Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang province has attracted world attention for its efforts to protect Chinese crested terns, with its video about efforts to protect the birds being appreciated by members of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP15, in Montreal, Canada, on Dec 9.

The conference started on Dec 7 and ended on Dec 19. 

Authorities in Zhoushan's Wuzhishan Island Nature Reserve have since 2015 been implementing a special program to help the birds breed. 

About 170 Chinese crested terns have been observed and 70 birds were born on the island since 2017.

The reserve will introduce UAV patrols to improve its protection of the birds, according to authorities.

The Chinese crested tern is the rarest bird in China, and is listed as a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The bird was considered extinct after its first discovery in 1861, but four adult birds and four young birds were discovered on the Mazu Islands off the coast of Fujian Province in 2000.

The birds feed on small fish in the upper layer of the ocean and are the flagship species of the marine ecosystem.