He'll be the stork of the town! Brave father bird protects nest of eggs on top of pylon as wildfire rips through field in Russia

Endangered Oriental stork refuses to budge despite the rising heat and smoke 

Bird and at least four of its future chicks survived blaze near  Tambovka village, close to River Gilchin

Huge field entirely burned in 1.5hrs; the fire was 'started by local criminals' 

By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 12:46, 15 May 2019 | UPDATED: 12:47, 15 May 2019

A heroic stork father is shown in a remarkable video protecting a nest full of eggs from a raging Russian wildfire.

The endangered bird - a rare Oriental stork - refuses to budge despite the rising heat and swirling noxious smoke.

The wildfire is seen in a CCTV camera trap belonging to WWF Russia and the AmurSoEs environmental organisation which released the footage.

The bird and at least four of its future chicks survived only because the stork nest is on an electricity pylon.

Continued

Rare birds appear in north China

Xinhua

  15:04 UTC+8, 2018-03-25       

Fifteen pairs of the critically endangered bird species, the Oriental stork, have appeared in the coastal areas of Tangshan, a city in north China's Hebei Province.

The rare Oriental storks have been spotted in Heiyanzi Township of Tangshan, with nine pairs of the birds brooding and another six nesting on a high voltage tower, said local sources.

The Oriental stork, also known as "ciconia boyciana" in Latin, is classified as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

It is a large white bird with black wing feathers. An adult stork is about 1.2 meters long with a wingspan of 2 meters. The birds usually breed in northeast China. They are placed under top state protection in China.

It is believed that there are fewer than 3,000 Oriental storks living worldwide.

Source: Xinhua   Editor: Chen Xiaoli

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