Black-necked cranes (Grus Nigricollis) perch at the lakefront of the Yamzbog Yumco Lake, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 16, 2009. The black-necked crane is the only one of the world's 15 crane species that inhabits high-altitude wetlands, with the species mainly limited to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas. The number of the endangered birds has kept rising annually in the past years thanks to a series of protection measures taken in Tibet Autonomous Region, photo from Xinhua.
 
Black-necked cranes (Grus Nigricollis) perch at the lakefront of the Yamzbog Yumco Lake, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 16, 2009, photo from Xinhua.
 
A black-necked crane (Grus Nigricollis) spreads its wings at the lakefront of the Yamzbog Yumco Lake, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 16, 2009, photo from Xinhua.