ZHENGZHOU, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A total of 53 kestrels have been released back into the wild by a local wildlife rescue station in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province.

"The birds include 21 kestrels under second-class state protection, most of which were found by local residents and survived after being rescued by the staff at the station," said Dong Chaowei, head of the wildlife rescue station of the Zhengzhou forestry bureau.

"The frequent appearance of kestrels in the downtown area reveals a huge improvement of the environment around the city," Dong added.

The station rescued 431 wild animals and released 174 wild birds back into the wild in the first half of 2019.