Thousands of critically endangered birds, the oriental stork, recently appeared at the Momoge National Nature Reserve in Zhenlai town, Northeast China's Jilin province.

Thousands of oriental storks are now at the Momoge National Nature Reserve in Zhenlai town, Northeast China's Jilin province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"It's the largest flock of oriental storks we've ever encountered in our reserve," said Xu Baocai, deputy investigator of the Administration of Momoge National Nature Reserve.

Located at the border between the provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Momoge is an important nature reserve in China.

A flock of oriental storks circling over the Momoge National Reserve in Jilin. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The oriental stork is classified as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. It is a large white bird with black wing feathers. An adult stork measures at about 1.2 meters long with a wingspan of two meters.

It is believed that there are fewer than 3,000 Oriental storks still in existence today.

Located at the border between the provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Momoge is an important nature reserve in China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]