Several river terns were recently spotted in a national wetland park in Southwest China's Yunnan Province.

In this set of photos, river terns are seen either catching fishes or flitting around above the wetland.

The river tern is a freshwater bird native to India and East Asia. In recent years, a rapid population decline of the species has occurred due to human disturbance.

The species is listed as "near threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and it is also under first-class protection in China.

There are now only five river terns in China, according to figures provided by Yingjiang National Wetland Park.

It's currently the birds' breeding season – In the wetland park, a river tern couple have laid three eggs and are hatching chicks, while another couple is expected to start brooding.

(Photos by Ma Yun and Zhu Bianyong; Compiled by Sun Hang)