Chinese egrets were spotted by conservationists at Dongsha Atoll National Park between July and this month, officials from Marine National Park Headquarters (MNPH) said yesterday.
Classified as a vulnerable bird species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the birds were discovered on the Dongsha Islands (東沙群島, also known as the Pratas Islands in English).
Reports from recent years indicate the precious bird species is a stable transient group in Dongsha park, MNPH officials said.
Although egrets migrate to Taiwan annually, there are few recorded sightings. The bird is protected under the country’s Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法) and classified as a rare and valuable species.
There were once sizable populations of Chinese egrets in the East Asia region. However, by the early 20th century, large numbers of the birds were hunted, resulting in a sharp decline in population.
The bird is also known as the Swinhoe egret.
Today only a handful of islands off the coastal regions of China, the two Koreas and Russia have records of the bird mating, MNPH officials said.
The geographic location of the Dongsha Islands in the northern part of the South China Sea, along with its natural environment free from pollution and mankind, attracts transient birds that migrate there every spring and autumn.
Since the Dongsha park began investigating bird populations in March, they have found four new bird species — the crested myna, black-winged kite, brown-rumped minivet and pheasant-tailed jacana.
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