(Photo by Sun Dongjun)

(Photo by Sun Dongjun)

June 5 is World Environment Day. Also, on this very day, Liu Yang, a renowned ornithologist, and professor at the Ecology School of Sun Yat-sen University, identified the bird captured by photographer Sun Dongjun at Nongmo Lake in Ruili City common tern. It is the first time to discover the tern in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture. The number of bird species in Dehong has increased to 720, breaking the record on a prefecture and municipal level in China.

(Photo by Xu Xiangdong)

(Photo by Zhang Haiyu)

Common terns inhabit wetlands, such as inland rivers, lakes, swamps, and ponds in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region, Inner Mongolia and Central China. Terns usually gather in flocks and glide quickly over the surface of lakes to catch prey in the water and then fly up again. The average lifespan of a common tern is 23 years. They will relentlessly attack large predators and even humans to protect their nests.

(Photo by Sun Dongjun)

(Photo by Xu Xiangdong)

(Photo by Zhang Haiyu)

(Photo by Sun Dongjun)

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(Editors: Ines, Christine)