Discoveries and memories

Years of fieldwork have led to many unexpected discoveries. In 2007, while visiting the Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve in Sichuan, he rediscovered the rare rusty-throated parrotbill.

In 1886, the Russian explorer Nikolay Przhevalsky toured western China with his expedition team, documenting many species for the first time. The rusty-throated parrotbill, known as Przevalski's parrotbill, was among them.

Ever since the official discovery, enthusiasts from Europe and the United States have been eager to see the bird, but for more than a century no one had seen it.

In the 1990s, there were rumors that some foreign visitors had seen it in Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan, but there was no photo evidence. In 2007, Dong and his mentor, Xi Zhinong, finally photographed it in Tangjiahe.

"I had been bird-watching for three or four years then, and could identify many birds, and I had a field guide with me," he said. "But when I took the photo, I didn't realize it was rusty-throated parrotbill. Who would expect to be able to photograph a bird that hadn't been seen in 120 years?"