Two rarely seen tropical birds were seen in Hong Kong during the past month. Bird experts say it could be because of climate change.
The birds, a great frigate and a white-tailed tropicbird, were both spotted around Po Toi, Hong Kong’s southern most island.
It was the first time the white-tailed tropic had ever been seen in Hong Kong. It’s only the fourth sighting of the frigate. Both birds are usually seen in more tropical climates.
PHOTO: EPA
Bird expert Cheung Ho-fai said they could be in Hong Kong because of climate change.
“The birds are very sensitive to climate change. Observing them is definitely a good way to understand the changes,” he said.
But Cheung said that the sightings were not proof that climate change had affected the birds. He said the birds could have been blown astray by a typhoon.
Climate experts claim Hong Kong could no longer have winters by the middle of this century. They say average temperatures could rise by at least 1°C in the next 20 years.(STAFF WRITER, WITH DPA)
上個月，有兩種香港罕見的熱帶鳥類出現在當地，鳥類專家表示，那可能是因為氣候變遷的關係。
一隻大軍艦鳥和一隻白尾熱帶鳥在香港最南端的蒲台島附近現蹤。
這是第一次在香港發現白尾熱帶鳥的蹤跡，而軍艦鳥則只是第四次現身，這兩種鳥類通常都生活在更偏熱帶氣候的地區。
鳥類專家張浩輝說，牠們可能是因為氣候變遷才出現香港。
他說：「鳥類對氣候變化相當敏感，因此觀察鳥類絕對是一個了解氣候變遷的好方法。」
但張浩輝說，我們無法證明牠們的出現是受到氣候變遷的影響，牠們也有可能是因颱風吹襲而迷路。
氣候專家認為，到了本世紀中期，香港的冬天可能就會完全消失；他們表示，未來二十年內，平均氣溫可能會上升至少攝氏一度。（德通社�翻譯：袁星塵）
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