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Bird in focus: Spotted Dove
When: December 2004
Where: Cherry Valley, Beijing
Photographer: Yang Hua

It was a sunny day after a snowfall and we were in the Cherry Valley, a wood in the outskirts of Beijing, watching the birds. The cold weather didn't prevent the little creatures from enjoying an afternoon of sunbathing. The buoyant parrotbills danced on tree branches, occasionally causing mini snowfalls; the chubby spotted doves gathered together as if they were having a meeting, and tottered away in haste when we tried to eavesdrop. Suddenly a sparrowhawk swooped down and a spotted dove fell prey. The survivors cooed their luckiness, and then the woods returned to silence as the sun began to set.

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