Endangered birds spotted in S China wetland

Two female Chinese mergansers were recently spotted in Lijiang National Wetland Park in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Every year, about 50 to 60 Chinese mergansers migrate from the far north to spend the winter here.

Known as “the living fossil in the water” and “the giant panda of birds”, the Chinese merganser is an endangered species on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and is under first-level state protection. With less than 2,000 pairs left in the world, it is a key indicator of ecosystem health.