By ZHOU JIN and HU MEIDONG in Fuzhou | China Daily Global

Feeding curious silver pheasants sees village embrace a new and prosperous way of life amid wave of tourists

A kind gesture eight years ago has given farmer Yang Meilin a new role. Yang, from the mountainous region of Southeast China's Fujian province, has become a guardian of the silver pheasant. He has also discovered a way to protect the bird and increase his income.

When feeding chickens in his farmhouse on the edge of a mountain ridge near his home, the grain always attracted five or six silver pheasants that were foraging for food. Instead of chasing them away, the 75-year-old fed the birds.

"I felt unable to shoo them away because the birds with their white feathers and long tails are so elegant and cute," he said.

Yang lives in Ziyun village in Mingxi county, Sanming, near a nature reserve.

The lush forest around the village offers the silver pheasant, as well as other wild birds, a perfect habitat. The silver pheasant is listed as a class-two animal under State protection. The male species are black and white, while the females are mainly brown.

Yang established an easy affinity with the silver pheasant and gradually became acquainted with the birds. Feeding them in the morning became his daily routine.

Carrying a bag of grain, Yang gets up before 6 am, walking along a path in the fields and traversing a bamboo forest, to scatter a handful of grain near a few big rocks and trees in a valley hidden in the forest.

Yang then imitates the voice of the silver pheasant to call them out.

Pheasants have been hunted by humans for their meat, and normally they will immediately run or fly away when people are around, Yang said.

In the beginning, only three or four silver pheasants responded to his call and walked out of the wood to feed in the valley. But as Yang spent time with them, more and more birds would join the feeding. Sometimes as many as 15 would gather.

"Since then, I came here to feed the silver pheasants every morning, regardless of rain or wind," he said. One time he arrived late because he was ill. He said the birds waited for him on the path, and flew to him the moment he appeared.

Yang also remembered once in a winter, with heavy snow blocking the way, he slipped and injured his leg. It took him a week to recuperate at home. The first thing he did after recovery was to feed his old friends.

Daily meetings and interactions at an appointed time have become a tacit agreement between Yang and the pheasants.

"April to May is the breeding season, while they molt from July to August, and in June, I can see female silver pheasants bringing their chicks to feed in the valley."

Over the past eight years, the silver pheasants have seen at least 200 eggs hatch, according to Yang.

"They are very close to me, like my family, I can't leave them, even for a day. Sometimes I visit my son who lives in Sanming, and I will definitely come back after lunch so that I can feed them the next morning in time."

But Yang usually offers them a moderate amount of food in the morning. He prepares more grain only in the winter to help them get through the tough time.

It is a way to avoid the birds becoming overly reliant on feeding, he said, adding that it is vital to follow the rules of nature and maintain the bird's natural foraging instincts.

In addition to feeding the silver pheasant, Yang also aids a silver pheasant caught and injured by a bird-trap. The injury broke his heart, Yang said. Lacking professional vets, he invited a village doctor to help save and treat the bird. After taking good care of it for a month, Yang released the pheasant to the wild.

Mingxi county is an important stopover and breeding place for migrant birds. More than 310 species of birds inhabit, breed or winter in the area's dense forests.

Other than silver pheasants, rare birds such as Cabot's tragopan, Elliot's pheasant and white-necklaced partridge have attracted many wildlife photographers to visit the area.

It occurred to Yang that it would be great if he could make the surrounding scenery look better to attract more photographers and bird watchers to visit Mingxi to increase the incomes of nearby villagers and protect the silver pheasants.

Yang's grandchildren Yang Shuiqing and Rao Yumin echoed his idea and joined his bird watching tourism business.

In 2016, they set up infrared cameras to detect the habits of birds, built a concealed bird watching shed, and arranged spots to facilitate photo and video shootings.

The spots receive tourists mainly from September to June, and host nature and ecological education summer camps in July and August.

When observing birds, Yang would remind tourists not to smoke, lower their voice and mute their phones to avoid disturbing the birds or damaging the environment.

To better receive tourists, Yang also converted his own house and other houses rented from villagers into a home-stay.

The bird watching spot has attracted bird lovers and other tourists from more than 30 countries, and the homestay can receive about 8,000 tourists a year, according to Yang.

"Many foreigners came here to see birds that are unique to China, and I even learned to fry beef to treat them," Yang said.

They also enjoy Chinese food. Yang and his family teach them to cook local food, Yang said, adding that he also learned simple English and Japanese words when interacting with them.

"I can take care of the birds and chat with people from all over the world, and I am very satisfied with my current life," Yang said.

Yang Shuiqing is glad to see how the silver pheasants have changed his grandfather's life.

"I am happy to see that my grandpa could communicate with the birds at such a close distance, it is amazing that the bird could understand him," he said.

"If not feeding the birds, he would work on the farm all his life, and feeding the silver pheasants and engaging in bird observing business have enriched his life and gave him the opportunity to contact people and kept him away from loneness."

What comforts them most is that with more villagers joining the business, they no longer poach the birds and instead, they ask Yang about ways to protect them.

"As they earned money from the business, they will take the initiative to protect the birds, which help preserve the environment as well as biodiversity here," Yang said.