KUNMING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Farmers usually go all the way to prevent birds from feasting on their crops.

Zhang Yonglin, however, does not.

In his village, Dashanbao Township, in southwest China's Yunnan Province, most farmers leave some potatoes unharvested every season for black-necked cranes to gorge on.

The species mainly lives in meadows, wetlands and lakes in the highlands of China, India, Bhutan and Nepal. They are under first class national protection in China.

With an estimated population of around 10,200, the species is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Dashanbao is one of the biggest wintering habitats for black-necked cranes in China and potatoes growing there are the main food of the endangered birds.

Growing potatoes is the main source of income of Zhang's family of four, bringing them about 20,000 yuan (about 3,084 U.S. dollars) a year.

His generosity to the cranes depends on a local government program aiming to protect the birds' food resources.

According to the program, local farmers can receive a subsidy of nearly 300 yuan per mu (about 0.07 hectare) every year as long as they leave 100 kg of potatoes in their fields during the autumn harvest as food for the cranes.

Last year, Zhang received a subsidy of more than 3,000 yuan.

To date, nearly 3,750 mu crops and 8,000 people in Dashanbao have been involved in this project, said Sun Rong, an official of the Dashanbao National Nature Reserve for Black-necked Cranes.

The reserve also provides wildlife accident insurance to villagers whose crops are damaged by black-necked cranes.

Even in villages outside the subsidy plan, local farmers share their crops with cranes.

The villagers used to drive cranes away because they destroy the crops, said Qian Yingwei, a local farmer.

In recent years, more and more people have come to Dashanbao for watching black-necked cranes, he added, suggesting that tourists bring business to the place.

"Black-necked crane is now the golden bird for us," he said.

According to the reserve, the number of black-necked cranes that flocked to Dashanbao for winter migration hit a record high last winter.

"That means more job opportunities and tourism revenue for the villagers here," Sun said. Enditem