Road project halted to shield protected birds

A road construction project in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region was suspended this week to protect the brooding of protected birds near the road.

"The construction site should remain closed until all rosy starlings finish hatching their eggs and leave," the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said on its Sina Weibo social media account on Tuesday.

The brooding birds, which have black and pink feathers, were found on gravel near an expressway under construction in Nilka county, Xinjiang, in the middle of June.