On 5th December 2017, Yellow-breasted Bunting has officially up-listed to “Critically Endangered”. Yellow-breasted Bunting, named as rice bird, was a famous dish in Chinese food culture. Although it is now illegal to sell or consume rice bird in mainland China, black market is still very active. The species has been up-listed four times over the past 14 years and is now facing extremely high risk of extinction.
2018 was established as “International Year of Yellow-breasted Bunting” by the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society. In the coming year, the Conservancy Association and the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society will join together to organize a series of themed activities and exhibitions in order to raise public awareness on conserving this extremely threatened species. In January, Harvest Festival in Long Valley had attracted over 800 participants visiting. Public education and reinforcement on stopping illegal poaching and selling are the keys for conserving Yellow-breasted Bunting.
