Warning signals flash for endangered birds

Impressive sight

Han, one of the country's top experts on birds, has worked in wilderness areas for decades, but has only observed a green peafowl in the wild once. Recalling this unexpected encounter, he said the beautiful bird had impressed him.

In 2002, Han was working on field research at Xiaoheishan Provincial Nature Reserve in Longling county. He had just left the reserve's forest station early in the morning and was walking along a forest path when he heard the cries of green peafowl coming from the surrounding mountains.

"Suddenly, I heard a bird's wings fluttering. Then, a large bird flew high toward the sky from a nearby cornfield. The bird saw me much sooner than I saw it. Within seconds, it had soared into the sky and disappeared into the valley," Han said.

"It was a male green peafowl, which is so quick and alert. I was stunned by its bluish-green tail feathers, which shone like jade in the sunlight. It was at that moment that you knew it was the 'king of birds'."

China is stepping up efforts to boost the endangered green peafowl population by providing the birds with a natural breeding ground in Yunnan. In recent years, local authorities, scientific institutions and public welfare organizations have strengthened efforts to revive the species.

On March 20, in the country's first public interest litigation case related to the green peafowl in Yunnan, a court ordered construction of a hydropower station to be suspended because of the damage the project would likely inflict on the birds' habitats. The ruling marked a significant step in the country's ecological conservation efforts.

The landmark decision came nearly three years after the lawsuit was filed to stop construction of the hydropower station on the Jiasa River, a stretch of the Red River in the province. The Jiasa River Hydropower Plant, which can generate 270 megawatts of electricity, cost 3.7 billion yuan ($572.7 million).

Yang Xiaojun, an ornithologist at the Kunming Institute of Zoology, a branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the conclusion that the green peafowl is likely to become extinct in China－after completion of a dam on the Jiasa River－is unwarranted and the decline of the species is due to a number of reasons.

According to surveys carried out by the institute, the species survives in 22 counties in Yunnan.

Yang said, "Agricultural expansion, habitat loss and illegal hunting have all played a part in the decline of the species. One of the main challenges facing green peafowl conservation is that more than 65 percent of the birds now live outside nature reserves."

Han said river valleys with gentle slopes, along with tropical monsoon forests, offer the birds humidity, sufficient food, water and open space, making such areas ideal habitats for the species. Recent research has also found that the birds can live in mountains where there is some open ground.