SHIJIAZHUANG -- The glossy ibis, a first-class protected species in China, has been sighted at Hengshui Lake National Nature Reserve, North China's Hebei province, after an absence of 15 years, according to local authorities.

"The species had vanished from China for many years until January 2009, when one individual was rediscovered in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province," Zhang Yuguang, deputy director of the resource protection bureau of Binhu New District in the city of Hengshui, recalled. "In May 2010, some researchers from the school of life sciences at Hengshui University recorded a single glossy ibis right here at Hengshui Lake."

Recently, another glossy ibis was spotted by a local bird photographer, with the bird seen sometimes lowering its curved bill to probe mud for food, while sometimes pausing to preen its feathers.

The glossy ibis favors warm lakes, rivers and marshes, often mingling with other ibises and herons while feeding on aquatic insects, larvae, shrimp, crustaceans and mollusks, Zhang added.

This ibis is extremely demanding in terms of its habitat requirements. "Its reappearance after 15 years not only enriches the reserve's list of endangered species but also testifies to the steady improvement of the lake's ecological environment — and to the effectiveness of our biodiversity conservation efforts," Zhang said.

Located on the East Asian-Australasian migratory bird flyway, Hengshui Lake National Nature Reserve is one of the few intact wetland ecosystems left on the North China Plain. Through systematic restoration and protection measures in recent years, it has become a critical stopover, wintering and breeding site for numerous birds.

To date, 336 avian species have been recorded in this area — 21 of which are under national first-class protection, the reserve revealed.