Male relict gulls are looking less distinctive now that the mating season is over. Their heads are turning partly white.

Every March, the total global population of the bird, about 10,000 gulls, gathers in east China's Bohai Bay to mate and breed. To attract females, the males' heads turn completely black. 

With the mating season over, the males are losing the distinctive black plumage, at least, until the next time.

In Beijing's Guanting Reservoir, where the bird has stopped over on its migratory journey to the south, some males have already lost quite a bit of their attractive hue.

(All images were taken by CGTN's Chen Chen on August 14, 2020.)

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