Jane Dye (1886–1976), pioneering birdwatcher in Sichuan, China, 1916–1949

It is widely believed that birdwatching did not emerge in mainland China until the 1980s. However, westerners had watched birds in this country from the early twentieth century, but they and their stories have been ignored. From 1916 to 1949, the American missionary Jane Dye taught at West China Union University and watched birds in Sichuan, especially in Chengdu. During a period when ornithology in China was almost equated with species investigation based on the collection of bird skins, Dye’s determination to observe birds in their native haunts and her rejection of collecting and specimen-based research was unusual. Through her study of birds in their habitats, she produced scientific knowledge that could not be gained from specimens, such as long-term patterns of behaviour and vertical migration. Dye routinely took bird walks, seized every chance to watch birds, recorded meticulously, collected local folklore about birds, wrote articles for academic and popular journals, gave lectures and encouraged people to watch birds. She was enthusiastic about popularizing bird knowledge with the help of various visual means, Owing to Dye’s efforts, birdwatching became popular among western women and children in Sichuan. After a long period of neglect, Dye is now honoured as ‘Grandma Dye’, the pioneer of, and spokesperson for, birdwatching in Chengdu.