A group of mysterious birds with a total population of less than 250 individuals worldwide has found a safe home in Wuyuan county, in southeast China’s Jiangxi Province.

The creatures, named blue-crowned laughingthrushes, have recently grabbed the attention of bird lovers and ornithologists, after the extremely rare species was spotted in Wuyuan on April 26 this year, China National Radio reported.

Endemic to China, this critically endangered species was previously considered a subspecies of the yellow-throated laughingthrush, but then treated as an individual species in its own right.

There had been no record of the species in the wild since specimens were collected in Wuyuan in 1919 and near Simao, southwest China’s Yunnan Province in 1956. After more than 80 years, the species was rediscovered in Wuyuan county in 2000.

Listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and Endangered on the China Species Red List, the blue-crowned birds are even rarer than giant pandas.

Rarely spotted outside of Wuyuan, the creature has critical requirements related to its habitat. Hence Wuyuan has environmental conditions that are perfect for the birds, as the county has their preferred trees like camphor and maple trees, with shrubs close to human habitation and water resources nearby.

Professor He Fenqi, from Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has continuously monitored the bird since its discovery, and annual counts are made. The estimated number from 2010 to 2011 increased from 200 to 250, but the IUCN on its website estimates the birds’ current population is decreasing, due to a lack of information on how the species will be affected by its low rate of reproduction and the threat of rapid urbanization.

To avoid extinction, Wuyuan’s Forestry Bureau supports protecting a number of key breeding sites. One of the species’ most important habitats, Rao Heyuan National Wetland Park, was built years ago and passed the criteria of China’s State Forestry Bureau in 2016. There is also a science museum dedicated to the unique birds inside the park, which aims to arouse people’s awareness of the endangered species.