They are called "birds of myth" by scholars and experts.

They are called "birds of myth" by scholars and experts.

Darkmouth crested tern, known as the "mythical bird", can be found in the coastal areas and southern islands of Taiwan Province Province, China.

Darkmouth crested tern is one of the rarest birds in the Gull family, and it is also one of the most endangered birds in the world at present-since 1863 was named, until 2000, there were only six exact observation records of them.

Because of their rarity and mystery, they are called "God Birds" by scholars and experts. In the past, in addition to collecting specimens in Shandong in summer, specimens were collected in Guangdong, Fujian, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines in spring, autumn and winter.

Darkmouth crested tern is one of the most endangered birds in the world and the rarest gull. Experts estimate that there are no more than 100 species of birds in the world, and they are listed as "endangered" in the World Red Book of Birds.

The risk factor of crested tern in Darkmouth is the pollution and destruction of its habitat. Global dependence on protection. Very rare. In the past, it was thought that it was breeding along the Shandong coast of China. In 2000, it was found to breed in Mazu, Fujian.

They can survive in Mazu, probably because Mazu used to be a military restricted area and access to the area was restricted. At present, Mazu has become a nature reserve. It is still possible to find them along the coasts of China and Taiwan Province provinces: migrating terns were once found in Bazhang Creek.

It is recorded in China 1863. 1937, scientists collected 15 male and 6 female ***2 1 specimen in Guanmu Island near Qingdao, Shandong Province. During the following 63 years, there were few observation records about crested terns in Darkmouth. Only in Beidaihe of 1978 and the Yellow River Delta of Dongying of Shandong Province of 199 1, scientists got several observation records, but they didn't take any photos. In the book "50 Rare Birds in the World" published by birdlife international, Darkmouth crested tern is among them. Many ornithologists despair of their extinction.

The unexpected surprise happened in June 2000. Liang Jun, a bird photographer from Taiwan Province, took this photo in the tern nature reserve in Mazu Islands. When he developed the photos afterwards, he accidentally found four breeding individuals and four chicks of crested terns in the breeding group, which became the big news of the year.