A spoon-billed sandpiper, a rare small wader, walks on a tidal flat in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province. [Photo by Hong Zuyi/xmnn.cn]

A rare bird species, the spoon-billed sandpiper, was recently spotted in Xiamen, a coastal city in East China, Xiamen Daily reported on Oct 31. 

A total of three birds – two observed on Oct 28 and one on Oct 30 – were on their annual migration south. The small species is usually bred in northeastern Russia and winters in Southeast Asia. 

Chen Hao, an official at the Xiamen Bird Watching Society, said one of the birds was from Russia, as indicated by the flag banded on its leg, where the serial number "L7" was printed. 

"L7 was a fledgling banded by Russia and I have confirmed that with Pavel TomKovich, one of the most experienced and respected scientists working on Arctic breeding birds, particularly shorebirds," Chen said, "It was the second brood of its parents and was naturally hatched and raised." 

He added that the discovery of L7 has shown that nestling spoon-billed sandpipers are capable of independent migration.