The Crested Ibis making a comeback in the Qinling

远山、绿树、水田。前来觅食的朱鹮，掠过人的头顶，长喙、凤冠、红首、白羽。行走陕西洋县乡野，这样的场景不时可见。

Distant mountains, green trees, and paddy fields. The crested ibis hovers in the sky with a long beak, a Phoenix crown, a red head, and white feather. Walking in the countryside of Yangxian County in Shaanxi Province, you'll see such a scene from time to time.

       

时针拨回到1978年，中国科学院动物研究所鸟类专家刘荫增受命寻找朱鹮，3年跋涉5万余公里，1981年5月，在洋县发现世上仅存的7只野生朱鹮。

In 1978, Liu Yinzeng, an ornithologist at the Institute of Zoology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, was ordered to look for the engangered creature. He traveled more than 50,000 kilometers in three years and finally found the world's only 7 wild crested ibises in Yangxian County in May 1981.

由此，一场拯救朱鹮的行动迅即开启。

And a project for saving the crested ibis started.

过去几十年呵护备至，7只朱鹮开枝散叶，如今已繁衍至5000余只。它们飞出洋县，飞越秦岭，飞向全国，飞到海外，种群濒临灭绝的命运得以逆转。

Strong protection efforts in the past decades helped to boost its population. Now, there are more than 5,000 crested ibises worldwide. Instead of dying out, they fly far to the Qinling Mountains, to China and beyond.    

    

寻鹮记/Looking for the created ibis

洋县感念刘荫增，这位找到朱鹮的老人，授予他“荣誉市民”。他则为自己的微信昵称取名“鹮叟”。

Yang County is grateful to Liu Yinzeng, the old man who found the crested ibis, and awarded him the title of "Honorary Citizen". His WeChat nickname is "An Old Ibis Man".

  

刘荫增介绍，对栖息环境，朱鹮很挑剔，至少要具备三个条件：要有高大茂密的树木；要有水田、河湖；要与人比邻而居，但又环境僻静。

Liu Yinzeng said that the habitat of the crested ibis is very special. At least three conditions must be met: tall and dense trees; paddy fields, rivers and lakes; a quiet place near people's residents.

然而，进入20世纪以来，由于城市化和人口增长，朱鹮栖息环境遭到破坏，世界上的朱鹮种群数量急剧减少——

In the 21 century, the crested ibis saw a sharp population decline worldwide due to human activities such as urbanization and pollution.

而我国自1964年在甘肃捕获一只朱鹮后，再无朱鹮的消息，这种珍禽一度被认为在我国已灭绝。

There has been no news of the bird since 1964 when China captured a crested ibis in Gansu. This rare bird was once thought to be extinct in China.

    

“中国到底还有没有朱鹮？”刘荫增一行踏上寻鹮之路。

Is there crested ibis in China? Liu Yinzeng started off to find the answer.

1981年5月，刘荫增第三次来到洋县赶在乡村放电影时，插播朱鹮幻灯片。一次，在县电影院放完片子后，村民何丑蛋说见过这种鸟，“不过我们这儿不叫朱鹮，叫红鹤”。

In May 1981, Liu Yinzeng came to Yangxian for the third time and played a slide show of the crested ibis while villagers were watching a movie. One day, after the film was shown in the county cinema, the villager He Choudan said that he had seen this kind of bird and local people called the bird "red crane".

    

​最终在半山腰农家旁，那15株高大郁葱的树上看到了朱鹮的身影。

Finally, crested ibis was found on the 15 tall and lush trees next to a farmhouse on the hillside.

“架起望远镜，一对朱鹮成鸟栖于树上，巢里3只幼雏嗷嗷待哺。” 刘荫增屏住呼吸，生怕惊扰了它们。

"There are a pair of adult crested ibis in the tree and another 3 chicks in the nest waiting to be fed." Liu Yinzeng held his breath at the telescope, for fear of disturbing them.

“朱鹮啊朱鹮，跑遍大半个中国，3年的心血没白费，可把你们找到啦！”

“Crested Ibis, Crested Ibis. I traveled all over China and three years of hard work were not in vain. I found you finally!"