On October 30, two bar-headed geese were released into the wild, in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

The staff of the Xi'an Wildlife Conservation Management Station found these two bar-headed geese in a market in Xi'an, kept in a cage.

The two bar-headed geese slowly walked out of the cage, they stretched their wings and looked around, then slowly swam into the water.

The bar-headed goose is a second-class protected animal in China.

There are two black horizontal stripes on the back of the head of the bar-headed geese. Their bill and talons are yellow, and their feathers are light gray.

Bar-headed geese are migratory birds that breed in plateau areas and overwinter in lowland lakes, rivers and marshes. They begin their annual southward journey from early September to mid-to-late October. Every year, many birds come to the wetlands around Bahe River in Shaanxi Province in the autumn and winter, including the bar-headed geese. The staff said that the two bar-headed geese have been kept in captivity for a period and they will continue to pay attention to the two geese.

(All photos via VCG)

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