Photographer captures a rare picture of 22 blossom-headed parakeets in SW China's Yunnan

Photo shows 22 blossom-headed parakeets in one single frame. (Photo/Sun Dongjun)

On September 11, a Chinese photographer captured a rare picture of 22 blossom-headed parakeets in Ruili city, Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Blossom-headed parakeets, a species under second-class state protection in China, are mainly distributed in Yunnan Province, south China's Guangdong Province and south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

However, the species hasn't been spotted in these regions for nearly 100 years. The existence of the species in China was not again proven until April 2015, when photographers spotted seven blossom-headed parakeets and monitored their breeding activities in the wild in Yingjiang county, Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province.

"Blossom-headed parakeets are rarely seen in China, and we have yet to collect any specimens of the species to this day. Based on these pictures, we estimate that there are at least 22 blossom-headed parakeets in the region, which is the latest record of the number of the species in China," said Liu Yang, a senior bird watcher and a professor of ecology with Sun Yat-sen University.

Han Lianxian, another senior bird watcher, said that in addition to setting a new record regarding the number of the species in China, the photos of the blossom-headed parakeets taken this time also prove that the number of the birds in the country continues to slowly rise.

"Ruili city shares a border with Myanmar, so it's normal that a lot of birds will fly across the border to China. As China has intensified efforts to protect wild animals, a lot of animals have migrated to China, which proves that the ecological environment of the country is improving," Han said.