Endemic Animals of China








Tufted Deer
The tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus ) is a small species of deer characterized by a prominent tuft of black hair on its forehead and fang-like canines for the males. It is a close relative of the muntjac, living somewhat further north over a wide area of central China and northeastern Myanmar. Suffering from overhunting and habitat loss, this deer is considered near-threatened. It is the only member of the genus Elaphodus.
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Tufted Deer
Giant Panda
The Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a bear species endemic to China. The name "giant panda" is sometimes used to distinguish it from the Red panda, a neighboring musteloid. The Giant panda has often served as China's national symbol, appeared on Chinese Gold Panda coins since 1982, and as one of the five Fuwa mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
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Giant Panda
Chinese Alligator
The Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) is one of the smallest species of crocodilian. It has been a part of Chinese literature since the third century. In the late 1200s, Marco Polo became the first person outside of China to write about it. In some writings, the Chinese alligator has been associated with the Chinese dragon. Many pieces of evidence suggest that the Chinese alligator was an inspiration for the Chinese dragon.
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Chinese Alligator
Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey
The Golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is an Old World monkey endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central and Southwest China. Snow occurs frequently within its range, and it can withstand colder average temperatures better than any other non-human primate. Of the three species of snub-nosed monkeys in China, the Golden snub-nosed monkey is the most widely distributed throughout China.
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Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey
Père David's Deer
The Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus) is a species of deer, the only extant member of the genus Elaphurus. Based on genetic comparisons, Père David's deer is closely related to Eld's deer. Père David's deer were hunted almost to extinction in their native China during the late 19th century by German troops, but a number were taken to zoos in France and Germany and the deer was bred successfully in captivity.
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Père David's Deer
Crested Ibis
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Crested Ibis
Golden Pheasant
The Golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) is a colorful bird native to forests in mountainous areas of China. The genus name of this bird comes from Ancient Greek khrusolophos which means "with golden crest", and pictus - Latin for "painted" from pingere, "to paint".
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Golden Pheasant
Baiji
The baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) is a possibly extinct species of freshwater dolphin. It is thought to be the first dolphin species driven to extinction due to the impact of humans. This dolphin is listed as “critically endangered: possibly extinct” by the IUCN, and has not been seen in almost 20 years. Nicknamed the "Goddess of the Yangtze" the baiji was regarded as the goddess of protection by local fishermen and boatmen.
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Baiji
Chinese Mountain Cat
The Chinese mountain cat (Felis bieti ), also known as Chinese desert cat and Chinese steppe cat, is a small wild cat endemic to western China that has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2002, as the effective population size may be fewer than 10,000 mature breeding individuals.It was provisionally classified as a wildcat subspecies with the name F. silvestris bieti in 2007.It is recognised as a valid species since 2017, as it ...
is morphologically distinct from wildcats.
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Chinese Mountain Cat
Ili Pika
The Ili pika (Ochotona iliensis ) is a species of mammal in the family Ochotonidae, endemic to northwest China. After its discovery in 1983, it was not documented again until 2002. The Ili pika population is declining and is currently considered to be endangered, with approximately fewer than 1,000 left.
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Ili Pika
Black Snub-Nosed Monkey
The black-and-white snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti ), also known as the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, is a large black and white primate that lives only in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, where it is known to the locals as the Yunnan golden hair monkey (滇金丝猴) and the black-and-white snub-nosed monkey (黑白仰鼻猴). The common name, black snub-nosed monkey, is issued to Rhinopithecus strykeri, inhabiting the Northern Sino-Myanmar border. Coniferous and de ...
ciduous forests in the mountainous regions of Yunnan are the ideal terrain for these primates. It is threatened by habitat loss, and is considered an endangered species. With their unique adaptations to their environment, these monkeys thrive at extreme altitudes despite the below freezing temperatures and thin air. This primate's diet is mainly made up of the large amounts of lichens available in their region.
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Black Snub-Nosed Monkey
Chinese giant salamander
The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus ) is one of the largest salamanders and one of the largest amphibians in the world. It is fully aquatic and is endemic to rocky mountain streams and lakes in the Yangtze river basin of central China. Either it or a close relative has been introduced to Kyoto Prefecture in Japan and to Taiwan. It is considered critically endangered in the wild due to habitat loss, pollution, and overcollection, as ...
it is considered a delicacy and used in traditional Chinese medicine. On farms in central China, it is extensively farmed and sometimes bred, although many of the salamanders on the farms are caught in the wild. It has been listed as one of the top-10 "focal species" in 2008 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered project. The Chinese giant salamander is considered to be a "living fossil". Although protected under Chinese law and CITES Appendix I, the wild population has declined by more than an estimated 80% since the 1950s. Although traditionally recognized as one of two living species of Andrias salamander in Asia, the other being the Japanese giant salamander, evidence indicates that the Chinese giant salamander may be composed of at least five cryptic species, further compounding each individual species' endangerment.
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Chinese giant salamander
Qinling panda
The Qinling panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis ) is a subspecies of the giant panda, discovered in the 1960s but not recognized as a subspecies until 2005. Besides the nominate subspecies, it is the first giant panda subspecies to be recognized.
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Qinling panda
Yangtze giant softshell turtle
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei ; simplified Chinese: 斑鳖; traditional Chinese: 斑鱉; pinyin: bānbiē ), also known as the Red River giant softshell turtle, the Shanghai softshell turtle, the speckled softshell turtle, and Swinhoe's softshell turtle, is an extremely rare species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. It may be the largest living freshwater turtle in the world. The species is endemic to eastern and southern China and north ...
ern Vietnam. Only two or three living individuals are known: one in China (captive) and one or two in Vietnam (wild). Following the deaths of a wild individual in Vietnam in January 2016 and a captive individual in China in 2019, the species is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List. The female of the last breeding pair died at Suzhou Zoo in China in April 2019. A wild female was discovered in Vietnam on October 22, 2020, and another individual is believed to have been sighted in the same area.
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Yangtze giant softshell turtle
Reeves's pheasant
Reeves's pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii ) is a large pheasant within the genus Syrmaticus. It is endemic to China. It is named after the British naturalist John Reeves, who first introduced live specimens to Europe in 1831.
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Reeves's pheasant
Mangshan Pit Viper
The Mangshan pit viper (Protobothrops mangshanensis) is a very rare venomous snake found only in two regions of China. No subspecies are currently recognized. This pit viper that is also known as the ''Mangshan iron-head snake'', ''Chinese pit viper'', and the ''Ironhead viper''.
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Mangshan Pit Viper
Hainan Black-Crested Gibbon
The Hainan black-crested gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is a Critically Endangered species of gibbon. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Eastern black crested gibbon from Hòa Bình and Cao Bằng provinces of Vietnam and Jingxi County in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.
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Hainan Black-Crested Gibbon
Golden Takin
The Golden takin (Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi) is a threatened subspecies of takin, native to China's. Takins have unique adaptations that help them stay warm and dry during cold Himalayan winters. Their large snout has sinus cavities that heat inhaled air, preventing the loss of body heat during respiration. A thick, secondary coat is grown to keep out the cold of the winters and provide protection from the weather. Another protection is their ...
oily skin. Although golden takins do not have skin glands, their skin secretes an oily, bitter-tasting substance that protects their body from rain in storms and fog.
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Golden Takin
Ailuropoda microta
Ailuropoda microta is the earliest known ancestor of the giant panda. It measured 1 m (3 ft) in length; the modern giant panda grows to a size in excess of 1.5 m (5 ft). Wear patterns on its teeth suggest it lived on a diet of bamboo, the primary food of the giant panda. The first discovered skull of the animal in a south China limestone cave is estimated to be 2 million years old. The skull found is about half the size of a modern-day giant pan ...
da, but is anatomically very similar. This research suggests that the giant panda has evolved for more than 3 million years as a completely separate lineage from that of other bears.
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Ailuropoda microta
Przewalski's gazelle
Przewalski's gazelle (Procapra przewalskii ) is a member of the family Bovidae, and in the wild, is found only in China. Once widespread, its range has declined to six populations near Qinghai Lake. The gazelle was named after Nikolai Przhevalsky, a Russian explorer who collected a specimen and brought it back to St. Petersburg in 1875.
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Przewalski's gazelle
Thermophis baileyi
Thermophis baileyi, also known commonly as Bailey's snake, the hot-spring keelback, the hot-spring snake, and the Xizang hot-spring keelback, is a rare species of colubrid snake endemic to Tibet.
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Thermophis baileyi
Panthera youngi
Panthera youngi is a fossil cat species that was described in 1934; fossil remains of this cat were excavated in a Sinanthropus formation in Choukoutien, northeastern China. Upper and lower jaws excavated in Japan's Yamaguchi Prefecture were also attributed to this species.It is estimated to have lived about 350,000 years ago in the Pleistocene epoch. It was suggested that it was conspecific with Panthera atrox and P. spelaea due to their ...
extensive similarities. Some dental similarities were also noted with the older P. fossilis, however, Panthera youngi showed more derived features.
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Panthera youngi
Hairy-fronted muntjac
The hairy-fronted muntjac or black muntjac (Muntiacus crinifrons ) is a type of deer currently found in Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Fujian in southeastern China. It is considered to be endangered, possibly down to as few as 5–10,000 individuals spread over a wide area. Reports of hairy-fronted muntjacs from Burma result from considering the hairy-fronted muntjac and Gongshan muntjac as the same species. This suggestion is controversial. It is s ...
imilar in size to the common muntjac.Hairy-fronted muntjacs are extremely difficult to study because of their shyness. Camera-trap photographs have revealed the presence of hairy-fronted muntjacs where they were believed not to have existed for decades, for example in the Wuyanling National Nature Reserve.This species was for a very long time one of the most poorly known deer in the world. It was also considered highly endangered; up to 1975, it was only known from a few museum specimens, at least to western scientists. The species has been heavily hunted throughout the 20th century and in 1978 alone at least 2,000 animals were killed. The current population in China was assessed in the early 1990s to be about 10,000 individuals, however it has declined much since and the current population is likely to be well under 7,000.
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Hairy-fronted muntjac
Chinese fire belly newt
The Chinese fire belly newt (Cynops orientalis ) is a small (2.2–4.0 inches (5.6–10.2 cm)) black newt, with bright-orange aposematic coloration on their ventral sides. C. orientalis is commonly seen in pet stores, where it is frequently confused with the Japanese fire belly newt (C. pyrrhogaster ) due to similarities in size and coloration. C. orientalis typically exhibits smoother skin and a rounder tail than C. pyrrhogaster, and has less obvi ...
ous parotoid glands.
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Chinese fire belly newt
Dwarf blue sheep
The bharal (Pseudois nayaur ), also called the blue sheep, is a caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the only member of the genus Pseudois. It occurs in India, Bhutan, China (in Gansu, Ningxia, Sichuan, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia), Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. The Helan Mountains of Ningxia have the highest concentration of bharal in the world, with 15 bharals per km2 and 30,000 in total.Its native names include yanyang (岩羊) in Mandarin, bha ...
ral, barhal, bharar, and bharut in Hindi, na or sna in Tibetan and Ladakh, nabo in Spitian, naur in Nepali and na or gnao in Bhutan.The bharal was also the focus of George Schaller and Peter Matthiessen's expedition to Nepal in 1973. Their personal experiences are well documented by Matthiessen in his book, The Snow Leopard. The bharal is a major prey of the snow leopard.
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Dwarf blue sheep
Diploderma splendidum
Diploderma splendidum, the green striped tree dragon, also called splendid japalure, is an agamid lizard found in the Yangtze River Basin of southwestern China. They are sold as pets internationally.
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Diploderma splendidum
Elliot's pheasant
Elliot's pheasant (Syrmaticus ellioti ), is a large pheasant native to south-eastern China.
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Elliot's pheasant
Blue eared pheasant
The blue eared pheasant (Crossoptilon auritum ) is a large, up to 96 cm (38 in) long, dark blue-grey pheasant with velvet black crown, red facial feathers appearing as bare skin, yellow iris, long white ear coverts behind the eyes, and crimson legs. Its tail of 24 elongated bluish-grey feathers is curved, loose, and dark-tipped. Both sexes are similar with the male being slightly larger.The blue eared pheasant is found throughout mountain f ...
orests of central China. Its diet consists mainly of berries and vegetable matter.One of the most common and numerous eared pheasants, the blue eared pheasant is evaluated as of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
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Blue eared pheasant
White-winged magpie
The white-winged magpie or Hainan magpie (Urocissa whiteheadi ) is a passerine bird of the crow family, Corvidae. It is unusual among the members of its genus in that it is black and white, lacking the blue plumage other Urocissa magpies have. Thus, it is sometimes placed in its own monotypic genus, Cissopica, though it appears to have sufficient features to remain in the genus Urocissa. There are two subspecies, the nominate whiteheadi being ...
found in Hainan and xanthomelana found in southern China, northern Vietnam, and north and central Laos. The two subspecies are distinctive and may merit specific status; further research is needed.The binomial commemorates the British explorer John Whitehead.
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White-winged magpie
Chinese monal
The Chinese monal or Chinese impeyan (Lophophorus lhuysii ) is a pheasant. This monal is restricted to mountains of central China. The plumage is highly iridescent. The male has a large drooping purple crest, a metallic green head, blue bare skin around the eyes, a reddish gold mantle, bluish green feathers and black underparts. The female is dark brown with white on its throat.This is the largest of the three monals and, by mass, is one of the ...
largest pheasants (after the turkeys and the green and Indian peafowls). Males measure 76–80 cm (30–31 in) in length while females measure 72–75 cm (28–30 in). The mean weight is reportedly 3.18 kg (7.0 lb).The scientific name, lhuysii, commemorates the French statesman Édouard Drouyn de Lhuys.Due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation, limited range and illegal hunting, the Chinese monal is evaluated as vulnerable on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.
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Chinese monal
Hainan peacock-pheasant
The Hainan peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron katsumatae ) is an endangered bird that belongs to the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is endemic to the island of Hainan, China. It is extremely rare.
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Hainan peacock-pheasant
Blue-crowned laughingthrush
The blue-crowned laughingthrush or Courtois's laughingbird (Pterorhinus courtoisi ) is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is now found only in Jiangxi, China. Until recently, this critically endangered species was generally treated as a subspecies of the yellow-throated laughingthrush, but that species has a pale grey (not bluish) crown.The blue-crowned laughingthrush was formerly placed in the genus Garrulax but following the ...
publication of a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study in 2018, it was moved to the resurrected genus Pterorhinus. The specific name was chosen to honour the French missionary to China Frédéric Courtois (1860-1928).The nominate subspecies was only rediscovered in 2000, in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi, but remains very rare with a total wild population of approximately 200 individuals. The subspecies G. courtoisi simaoensis has not been encountered in the wild since the type specimens were collected in Simao, Yunnan in 1956. More than 100 blue-crowned laughingthrushes are kept in zoos (where part of a captive breeding program) and private aviculture, but it is unclear what subspecies they belong to. A recent review failed to support the distinction of two separate subspecies, leading to simaoensis being treated as a synonym of the nominate in Handbook of the Birds of the World.This bird was erroneously listed as a species of least concern in the 2006 IUCN Red List. Actually, it seems close to extinction at least in the wild, and its status was thus corrected to critically endangered in the 2007 Red List issue.
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Blue-crowned laughingthrush
Sichuan jay
The Sichuan jay (Perisoreus internigrans ) is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is endemic to China.
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Sichuan jay
White-browed tit
The white-browed tit (Poecile superciliosus, formerly Parus superciliosus ) is a species of bird in the tit family Paridae. It is endemic to the mountain forests of central China and Tibet.It is 13.5–14 cm long, with a weight of 10–12 g. The plumage pattern is very similar to that of the western North American mountain chickadee P. gambeli (of which it has on occasion been considered a subspecies, despite its being on a different continent), diff ...
ering in the breast and cheeks being rusty brown, not white, and having a longer and more sharply defined white eyebrow; the back is also a richer brown, not greyish-brown (del Hoyo et al. 2007).It breeds in alpine shrub forests of Berberis, Rhamnus, Rhododendron, and Salix at 3,200–4,235 m altitude, descending in winter to slightly lower levels where it occurs in coniferous forests, primarily Picea. It nests on the ground in rock crevices or old rodent burrows (del Hoyo et al. 2007).Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the white-browed tit is sister to the sombre tit (Poecile lugubris ).
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White-browed tit
Chinese grouse
The Chinese grouse, also known as Severtzov's grouse or the black-breasted hazel grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi ) is a grouse species closely related to the hazel grouse.It is a sedentary bird which inhabits conifer-rich mixed montane forests of central China. The bird is very similar in appearance to the hazel grouse apart from less of a white stripe on the head and neck.The bird is named after a Russian explorer and naturalist, Nikolai ...
Alekseevich Severtzov.Chinese grouse is legally an endangered species in China, in the area in which its most centrally located. The population has been declining over the years and is still showing this decrease in numbers. The Chinese grouse has around 10,000 birds currently according to the Nordic Board for Wildlife Research. The main cause of this decline is due to habitat loss by deforestation. There are many forestry practices, habitat fragmentation, and decrease in area of coniferous forests that contribute to the reasons this species is in decline. Current efforts are being made in China to stop such a dramatic decline in the species such as halted logging of the forests.
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Chinese grouse
Aegypius jinniushanensis
Aegypius jinniushanensis is an extinct Old World vulture which existed in what is now China during the Middle Pleistocene period. It was described by Zihui Zhang, Yunping Huang, Helen F. James and Lianhai Hou in 2012.
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Aegypius jinniushanensis
White-necklaced partridge
The white-necklaced partridge (Arborophila gingica ), also known as the collared partridge or Rickett's hill-partridge, is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is endemic to southeastern China. It is threatened by habitat loss and hunting, and the IUCN has assessed it as near-threatened.
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White-necklaced partridge
Sichuan partridge
The Sichuan partridge (Arborophila rufipectus ) is a bird species in the family Phasianidae. It is found only in China where it is classified as a nationally protected animal. Its natural habitat is temperate forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
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Sichuan partridge
Chinese thrush
The Chinese thrush (Turdus mupinensis ) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in China and far northern Vietnam. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.A recent molecular study places the Chinese thrush's closest relatives as the similarly plumaged European species, the song thrush (T. philomelos ) and the mistle thrush (T. viscivorus ), all three species early offshoots ...
from the main Turdus radiation around the world.
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Chinese thrush
Sichuan tit
The Sichuan tit (Poecile weigoldicus ) is a species of bird in the tit family Paridae. It is found in central China.This species was formerly treated as a subspecies of the willow tit (Poecile montanus ). It was promoted to species status based on a genetic analysis published in 2002. It is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
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Sichuan tit
Emei Shan liocichla
The Emei Shan liocichla (Liocichla omeiensis ) is a passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. The species, also known as the Omei Shan or grey-faced liocichla, is endemic to mountain ranges in Southern Sichuan, China. It is closely related to the Bugun liocichla, a species only described in 2006, and which it closely resembles.The Emei Shan liocichla is an olive-grey coloured bird with red wing patches. The plumage on the face is grey with a ...
slight red ring on each side of the face. The species feeds in the undergrowth of semi-tropical rainforest. It is an altitudinal migrant, spending the summer months above 1000 m and moving below 600m in the winter.The Emei Shan liocichla is considered vulnerable by the IUCN. It is threatened by habitat loss through logging and conversion to agriculture. Some populations are protected inside reserves, such as the Emei Shan Protected Scenic Site.
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Emei Shan liocichla
Zappey's flycatcher
Zappey's flycatcher (Cyanoptila cumatilis ) is a songbird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It breeds in central China and winters to the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Java. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the blue-and-white flycatcher.
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Zappey's flycatcher
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