Conservation staff spotted a flock of some 20 critically endangered Baer's Pochard ducks, a species under first-class state protection in China, at a reservoir in Shandan County in northwestern Gansu Province on Thursday.

Staff members at the county's wetland protection station saw the birds floating and diving via a migratory bird monitoring system.

Baer's Pochard ducks have round bodies and large heads, with the males noted for their black heads and necks and white eyes and feathers with green luster.

They are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and China's list of wild animals under national protection.

(Cover image via VCG)

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