A rare endemic bird, the white-eared night-heron, a Class A protected species in China, has been recorded for the first time in Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

On October 14, local villager Tian Ruzhong discovered the grayish-brown bird in his courtyard after it flew from behind his house, collided with power lines, and fell to the ground. "At around 4 p.m. that day, the bird flew over from a distance, hit the power lines, and dropped down. Several of us went to check on it – it was quite aggressive, so we called the forestry station to take it away," Tian told reporters.

Forestry staff in Yinjiang confirmed the bird's identity as the white-eared night-heron, a top-tier protected species in China. After a thorough examination revealed no injuries, the adult heron was cared for and observed for two days. Once its stable physical condition and ability to survive in the wild were verified, it was released into safe waters. Notably, the species is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, with only approximately 1,000 adult individuals remaining worldwide.

In recent years, Yinjiang has strengthened ecological protection efforts. Key measures include strictly enforcing the river chief system – which tasks officials at all levels with coordinating water conservation – as well as afforestation, and enhanced forest fire prevention. These measures have significantly improved the local ecology, resulting in high-quality river water, abundant fish and shrimp populations, and sufficient food resources for rare water fowls.