The message came through on Friday afternoon. Qin Qin (沁沁) had found an accentor at the Yangtaishan Rosefields, up at Miaofengshan in Mentougou District, and the photos on WeChat set the pulse racing — this wasn’t one of our regular Siberian Accentors, a common late autumn migrant and winter visitor. The bill, the plumage tones, the whole feel of the bird pointed to Mongolian Accentor (Prunella koslowi), also known as Kozlov’s Accentor, a first record for Beijing. It soon became clear from images from birders on site that two birds were present – one that looked like a typical adult and a more streaky, contrasty bird, presumably a first-winter.
There was nothing to do but wait for morning and hope they lingered.
Saturday dawned and, with Wei Chunzhi, we made the drive up to Miaofengshan, not at all sure what we’d find. We needn’t have worried about company — more than twenty birders had had the same idea, and the hillside was already dotted with birders searching the high scrub by the time we arrived.
Within five minutes of arriving, the bird announced itself. I heard it before I saw it – a typical accentor multiple high-pitched call – and then there it was: an adult, perched right up on top of a small conifer, held against the light. A classic accentor pose, and heart-stopping all the same. A few minutes later, after this first bird had dropped into cover, a second bird appeared — and this one was clearly different. More contrasting, more heavily streaked: a first-winter, by all appearances. Better still, it dropped down and gave itself up completely, feeding out in the open on the ground, on the edge of the path, in view for everyone and showing every feather in the beautiful soft morning light.
Two Mongolian Accentors, then — a presumed adult and a presumed first-winter. Incredible.
It didn’t last. At around 09:00 the first-winter bird lifted off, climbed, and flew strongly away high to the west until it was lost from view. Despite plenty of eyes searching through the rest of the day, there was no further sign of either bird. Time will tell if they are still present or whether their stay was all too brief.
It is a quite extraordinary record. Mongolian Accentor is a little-known species of the arid mountains and semi-deserts away to the west, in Mongolia and north-central China, with a small range and very few records beyond it. To have not one but two turn up at Miaofengshan — and to be seen so well by the birders present — is the kind of morning that stays with you. A supporting cast of a male White-winged Redstart, a Bohemian Waxwing, a modest influx of winter thrushes, including Red-throated, Naumann’s and Dusky, made for a memorable morning’s birding. Huge thanks to Qin Qin for finding it and getting the word out, to Wei Chunzhi for her company and transport, and to the other birders on site – including several members of the student birding group 北京飞羽 （Beijing FeiYu) – for the great company.
There are many potential new species for Beijing but I think it’s fair to say that nobody would have had Mongolian Accentor on their radar. What will turn up next?
Title image: Mongolian Accentor, presumed first-winter, Yangtaishan Rosefields, Miaofengshan, Mentougou District (Terry Townshend)
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