NANJING -- A biodiversity survey team said Sunday that they have found more than 50 reed parrotbills in an area of marshland in Lianyungang city of East China's Jiangsu province.

The rare birds were also observed at other wetlands in the city, from a few specimens to dozens, the survey team said.

"It indicates that the small birds have a stable population in Lianyungang, which also shows that local wetland protection has achieved remarkable results," said Yang Shixiong, leader of the team organized by the academy of environmental planning and design at Nanjing University.

Reed parrotbills mainly inhabit reed marshes and similar habitats in coastal areas of east China, and the species was classified as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.