CHENGDU, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Four people who allegedly poached thousands of birds have been placed under custody in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

In October 2017, the suspects netted over 5,000 birds, including some protected species, in Yanjiang District of Ziyang City in Sichuan, local forest police said Monday.

They attracted the birds by playing recordings of birdsongs.

Some 2,000 of the birds were sold to restaurants in Guangzhou City in south China.

Two of the suspects were caught in October. The other two turned themselves in July 2018.