Recently, Wang Ximing, a bird expert who lives in a  community in Shinan district, Qingdao, noticed she had several new neighbours. Four huge birds have been hanging around the area and treating residents to their beautiful singing.

"They are all 40 centimetres in length, and have two black lines under their eyes," said Wang, "They are not afraid of people and they eat meat."

The four birds were identified by Wang as kestrels, a national second-class protected species. Wang believes that it is the abundance of green space around the community that attracted the kestrels.

Wang said that in addition to kestrels, an increasing number of wild birds are making their homes in urban areas of Qingdao, indicating an improvement in the environment.

According to local reports, in recent years, the varieties of wild birds in Qingdao has increased every year.  By the end of 2019, there have been 398 varieties of wild birds in the city.

The kestrel that was spotted has brown and black feathers and its beak is slightly curved with hooks. [Photo/bandao.cn]