Building construction gives way to birds in central China

Prospective residents of a building that is under construction in central China's Henan Province will have to wait to move in because of some strange intruders at the construction site -- swallows.

Nearly 1,000 swallows were found to have nested at a construction site in Longhu Township in the county-level city of Xinzheng, which is located in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou.

Local officials decided to suspend construction on Tuesday until the fledglings are old enough to fly.
"We are concerned that our workers may hurt the birds while working, as they are not able to fly yet," said Yang Weizeng, deputy chief of Xinzheng's municipal forestry bureau.

Yang said the swallows began nesting at the site about a month ago, when builders had just finished laying the building's foundation.

The manager of the construction company responsible for the building said the building is being used to resettle nearby villagers. Although the construction is already behind schedule, the local government has managed to persuade the company to postpone construction.

A similar incident occurred in the area last year, when a group of birds nested in a nearby construction site.
"Likewise, we stopped the project last time to let the young birds grow," Yang said.

Zoologist Dong Chaowei predicted that the nestlings will be able to fly by July.

Source: Xinhua