Recently at the Tuanhe River Wetland Reserve in Neixiang county of Nanyang city, Central China's Henan province, bird photographers Li Yushan and Wang Yuezhong spotted a new species that they had never seen before: a kind of white-plumaged bird with an elongated beak and a stretched willow-shaped crown. As confirmed byWang Qinghe, director of Nanyang Wildlife Protection Station, the bird is crested ibis, a first-class nationally protected species in China.
Crested ibis spotted in Nanyang for the first time. [Photo provided to Henan Daily]
As an ancient bird species known as the "Oriental Jewel", crested ibis usually inhabits wetlands, swamps and paddy fields, and feeds on small fish, crabs, frogs, snails and other aquatic animals. "This is the first time that the crested ibis has been spotted in Nanyang," said Wang Qinghe. Crested ibis has a high requirement for environment. Its appearance in the Tuanhe River Wetland Reserve indicates that the environment of Neixiang has been significantly improved. (Chinese source: Henan Daily Reporter: Meng Xiangdong Zeng Qian Translator: He Menghe Proofreader: Zhang Junping)
