How the crested ibis came back from the brink

"We hear a lot of negative stories about species being lost, so it's really important to hear positive stories and to know that species can be saved and brought back from the brink of extinction," Townshend said.

Believed to have existed for more than 60 million years, the crested ibis, known as "the Oriental gem", is one of the oldest avian species in the world and once flourished in China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan and Russia. In 1960, it was designated as an internationally protected bird.

However, the widespread use of pesticides and fertilizers, along with hunting and habitat loss due to deforestation, brought the birds to the brink of extinction.

The crested ibis was once thought to be extinct, but its population has undergone a miraculous revival thanks to decades of conservation efforts by researchers such as Liu and many local people who believe the bird is auspicious.

Long history

In Japan, Kin, the country's last crested ibis born in the wild, died in 2003. The female was estimated to be more than 36 years old.

The crested ibis, which is deeply rooted in Japanese history and culture, was first recorded in the Nihon Shoki, (Chronicles of Japan), a history of the nation compiled in the year 720.

When Japanese environmental journalist and scientist Ishi Hiroyuki lamented the death of Kin in an article in 2017, he also claimed that the bird's demise did not mean extinction of the species.

"The crested ibis was found to still exist in China. Researchers in China were successfully breeding other wild crested ibises that they had discovered earlier," Hiroyuki wrote.

Team leader

On May 23 and 30, 1981, Liu, the veteran ornithologist, led a small team that found seven crested ibises－two pairs of adults and three chicks－in Yangxian county. They were thought to be the last remaining crested ibises worldwide.

Before their exciting discovery, Liu and his colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Zoology had painstakingly conducted field research for three years, trekking more than 50,000 kilometers across China in search of the birds. However, their quest was in vain.

"At the time, I had prepared my paper concluding that the crested ibis had become extinct," Liu said.

Before the survey team members made their final judgment on the extinction of crested ibises in China, Liu requested a field visit to Yangxian. His faith paid off, and his new paper, titled Recovery of Japanese Crested Ibis in Qinling Range, was published in 1981 in Current Zoology, then known as Acta Zoologica Sinica.

"It was an important decision to declare their extinction to the world. If I were to do this all over again, I would do the same," Liu said. "When it comes to scientific work, you must be rigorous. Nothing can slip through the cracks."

On catching sight of the long-beaked, red-faced birds, Liu had mixed feelings. He was gratified that the team's efforts had not been in vain, but at the same time, he felt no relief, instead worrying whether such a tiny population could survive.

The team members safeguarded the birds day and night, installing protective devices to deal with predators such as snakes.