A plague of crows has descended on the northeast city of Shenyang, darkening the daylight sky, occupying the balconies of apartment blocks and showering shops and pedestrians with droppings.
The Beijing Youth Daily described how more than 10,000 of the birds had settled in the city this winter, bringing misfortune and inconvenience to its six million citizens.
'Daytime is like a cloud of crows,' said one resident. 'Look at the sky and you see several thousand. There must be more than 10,000.
'Where do they come from? We do not know. They drop their excrement on our heads. In the evenings, it is like rain, it is hard to avoid. It is very inconvenient.'
An official of the city's sanitation department said that each day its staff had to clean at least 50kg of the droppings. People are being forced to wear hats and face masks and cover their shoes to protect themselves.
The birds are not only having an impact on residents, but also on businesses.
Thousands have moved into Zhonghua Street, one of the main shopping districts. A famous bread shop that used to be at its busiest at 5pm is now almost idle at that time because the shop windows are covered with crow droppings.
