Two white-eared night herons, one of the world's 30 most critically endangered bird species, were spotted in a natural reserve in southern China's Guangdong Province, according to the provincial forestry bureau.

In early April, two infrared cameras captured the images of two white-eared night herons near a large bird nest close to a reservoir, following a systematic wildlife monitoring in the Nanling National Nature Reserve.

The endangered bird, found in southern China's Hainan, are few in number and threatened by habitat loss. Since the 1960s, the bird has been rarely found around the world, and the total number of adult birds is less than 1,000 globally.

According to the bureau, five white-eared night herons have been spotted in northern Guangdong in about the past four decades and the Nanling reserve contributed three records of the bird.