Retired ornithologist recalls search for last of a species

For retired ornithologist Liu Yinzeng, the lure of being near his beloved "feathered friends" later in life was too strong, and so seven years ago the 88-year-old upped sticks from Beijing and headed to Yangxian in Shaanxi province, some 1,300 kilometers away.

In Yangxian, every morning, Liu drives his electric buggy to a nearby river to observe the birds, especially the crested ibises, making this ritual the most important part of his day.

Being able to see crested ibises brings him a sense of peace, he said.

"You know what? I've counted carefully many times, and now one out of every 10 egrets you see here in Yangxian is actually a crested ibis," smiled a proud Liu.

He has every reason to be proud.

In May 1981, Liu found seven crested ibises — two pairs of adults and three chicks — in Yangxian, which were thought to be the last remaining crested ibises worldwide.

As of the end of last year, the number of the species has jumped to over 7,000 in China, with most of them in Yangxian.

Seated with hands on his walking stick, the veteran ornithologist vividly recalled how he and his team managed to find the last group of the species.

Before their discovery, the team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Zoology had conducted field research consistently for three years. Despite having trekked more than 50,000 km across China in search of the birds, their efforts were in vain.

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

Assigned to find the crested ibis with a three-year deadline, Liu was running out of time in Tianshui, Gansu, and was nearly ready to abandon the search. That's, however, when hope emerged.

A hunter, hearing of the team's mission, brought them three feathers he believed were from the ibis. Liu's expertise soon confirmed the belief.

He returned to Beijing to secure an additional 2,000 yuan ($283) in funding to sustain the search. With this secured, he then set out for Yangxian.

There, he changed his search strategy. Rather than directly venturing into densely vegetated mountains, he mobilized the public for help. To enlist local support, he broadcast images of the bird on a cinema screen before the start of any film screened in the area.

The strategy worked, with many farmers reporting to him that they had run into the species.

The birds they saw, however, turned out to be only egrets.

The turning point arrived when another hunter — whom Liu recalled as He Choudan — contacted him. The hunter's description matched the features of the crested ibis in every detail, despite the fact that he had observed the bird at an altitude of about 1,200 meters, far above the species' typical range of around 400 meters.

Liu immediately set out for the village near where the hunter had sighted the bird. Darkness was falling as he arrived. While walking downhill, a bird flew overhead. A glimpse of red feathers beneath its wings told him it could be a crested ibis.

Gazing skyward in excitement, Liu lost his footing and fell. By the time he struggled to his feet, the bird had vanished. With no other option, he took shelter with a local family. After three more days of searching, he finally encountered the group of the seven crested ibises.

From then on, Liu and his colleagues devoted themselves to the vital task of guarding the last remaining group of birds. Their busiest period spanned from March to June, the crested ibis' breeding season, during which they maintained a 24-hour vigil under the trees where the birds roosted at night.

When recalling the hardships he and his colleagues endured in the early days of crested ibis conservation, Liu did not go into detail. Instead, he consistently expressed his profound gratitude to the people of Yangxian.

"To protect them, the Yangxian government issued an emergency notice at the time, prohibiting hunting, land reclamation, deforestation and other activities within the birds' habitat. The people of Yangxian were remarkably cooperative and made tremendous sacrifices," he said.