Tag: John MacKinnon

John MacKinnon (R) and shanghaibirding.com founder Craig Brelsford pose together at Cape Nanhui, Shanghai. The renowned naturalist and author has played a major role in the development of shanghaibirding.com. MacKinnon is the author of four posts for the site, and he has served as a consultant and inspiration from the very beginning.

MacKinnon is the author of Guide to the Birds of China (2022) and co-author of A Field Guide to the Birds of China (2000), the most influential book ever written about the birds of China. The Field Guide has sold more than 50,000 copies and remains the only bird guide in English covering all China. Had the Field Guide merely been a window for Westerners to the birds of the world’s most populous country, then MacKinnon’s work would have been important enough. The book, however, in translated form has introduced tens of thousands of Chinese to the birds of their country. MacKinnon’s Chinese name, Mǎjìngnéng (马敬能), is known by every birder in China. (Photo: Larry Chen)

Read the posts John MacKinnon has authored for shanghaibirding.com:

Daxing’anling: Kingdom of the Great Owls: MacKinnon describes his experiences with the owls of the Greater Khingan Range in northern Inner Mongolia. “I meet her two boyfriends,” writes MacKinnon. “One has got wet in the night rain and looks rather miserable with straggly wet feathers.”

MacKinnon in the Altai Mountains of Xinjiang: The visit of the pioneering naturalist included an encounter with wolves and records of Willow Ptarmigan and Rock Ptarmigan. “We emerged on top of the world,” MacKinnon writes, “with views way into the distance across the Mongolian border.”

Well-spotted in the Bamboo: MacKinnon introduces the bird community of Jinfoshan, the highest peak in the Dalou Mountains in the city-province of Chongqing. “Whilst colleagues … swarmed the site with an array of expensive cameras and optics,” MacKinnon writes, “I stayed deep in the forests, looking for laughingthrushes.”

The Artistry of Karen Phillipps: In this post, written exclusively for shanghaibirding.com, MacKinnon describes the qualities that made the late Karen Phillipps a great wildlife artist. “She had a unique, inimitable style,” MacKinnon writes. “Her pictures are clean, vibrant, and beautiful.”

See also

Exclusive Interview with John MacKinnon: On the occasion of the publication of his Guide to the Birds of China, the pioneering naturalist talks with shanghaibirding.com about his new book, his long career in Asia, and the many attractions that mega-diverse China offers to birders.

John MacKinnon in Shanghai: We gave the great naturalist the Cape Nanhui Grand Tour, noting 84 species, among them Oriental Plover. A fine storyteller and keen wit, MacKinnon had us roaring with tales drawn from his six decades as a researcher in Asia.

MacKinnon’s new Guide and classic Field Guide: The Guide to the Birds of China, published in 2022, and its predecessor, the Field Guide to the Birds of China, published in 2000, are the most influential books ever written about the birds of China. Birders from Xinjiang to Hainan have come to depend on MacKinnon’s monumental works.

Scroll down for the many posts about John MacKinnon on shanghaibirding.com. Write us: info@shanghaibirding.com