Two egrets are seen in this photo taken on July 5, 2003, Leizhou, south China's Guangdong Province.
With a careful protection from local residents, Kelu, a small town in Guangdong Province, has become a habitat for more than 10,000 egrets.
The beautiful egret is often called the environment-testing bird by environmentalists all over the world. The name "egret" applies to 61 species out of 17 genera, of which 21 species out of 10 genera inhabit south China's provinces as far south as the Yangtze River.
(Edited by China.org.cn July 8, 2003)