News - South China Morning Post
· collected 2026-09-06 · by Victoria Bela
A study published in a top US journal that claimed China's solar policy hurt birds may have miscounted the population of egrets by 2 billion due to potential errors in data from the China Birdwatching Record Centre. The centre's records were called into question by the China Ornithological Society, which pointed to unusually high numbers for little egrets and red-billed blue magpies in Guangdong province. The reported bird populations include a staggering 2.1 billion little egrets in 2015 and 1.3 billion red-billed blue magpies in 2022. The issue has sparked heated discussions on social media about negative narratives surrounding China's green energy sector.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A study published in a top US journal claimed that China's solar policy was hurting birds, but it may have relied on incorrect data. The study used numbers from the China Birdwatching Record Centre, which has since been called into question by the China Ornithological Society. According to the society, the record centre's numbers may be flawed, pointing to a particularly high count of 2.1 billion little egrets in 2015 and another of 1.3 billion red-billed blue magpies in 2022, both in Guangdong province. These numbers are so high that they appear to exceed the entire global population of some bird species, raising concerns about the accuracy of the study's conclusions. The study sparked heated online debates about China's green energy sector and has been criticized for lacking proper quality control.
Written for “China's Solar Policy Criticized” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
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Leaning score +0.15 for article 5355 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-06
Study that argued China’s solar policy hurt birds may have miscounted 2 billion egrets
uncertain
policy → argue → egrets
Critics claim report in top US journal lacked quality control and used data suggesting one park had more than the entire global population
It also brought up heated conversations on social media about negative narratives surrounding China’s green energy sector.
uncertain
It → claim → sector
The data used to plug into a bird diversity index was taken from the China Birdwatching Record Centre, the largest citizen-science platform for bird observations in the country.
asserted
data → use → country
Late last month, a social media post from the China Ornithological Society warned of potential errors in the centre’s records, which it said may have influenced the paper’s conclusions.
uncertain
it → warn → conclusions
It pointed to a logged observation in 2015 of 2.1 billion little egrets in a wetland, and another in 2022 of 1.3 billion red-billed blue magpies in a park, both in Guangdong province.
asserted
It → point → province
