A flock of Chinese crested terns on the Jiushan islands in Xiangshan county, Zhejiang province. [Photo/IC]

According to the staff at a nature reserve in Xiangshan county in Ningbo city in East China's Zhejiang province, about 107 Chinese crested terns, a rare bird, were spotted in the area recently since the breeding season for the species began.

The Chinese crested tern is dubbed the "Bird of Legend". As one of the rarest seabirds in the world, it was considered extinct until 2000. In 2004, researchers from the Zhejiang Nature Museum spotted the bird on the Jiushan Chain Islands in Xiangshan county. At that time, the estimated global population was less than 50. Currently, the bird is listed as "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The bird population has been steadily increasing due to a series of protection programs, and one of the Jiushan islands has become the species' biggest and most important breeding base. According to the researchers and volunteers, the previous highest record of birds spotted was 93; the current record is 107.

According to Fan Zhongyong, a famous bird expert in Zhejiang, there is still a chance to hit a new high in the next few months as the breeding season continues.