A red-beaked gull dashes for food in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province January 11, 2006. Amid fears of bird flu, the number of Kunming residents volunteering to feed the gulls has dropped, leading to a sharp drop of red-beaked gulls in the winter.

It is reported that about 14,000 gulls fly to the downtown areas this year, a drop of 5,000 over the previous year. The city government called for volunteers to feed the birds and provided financial subsidies for residents who feed the birds.

Red-beaked gulls swim in a lake.

A child feeds a red-beaked gull in Kunming.

(China Daily January 12, 2006)