The relict gull or Central Asian gull (''Ichthyaetus relictus'') is a medium-sized

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, ...

. It was believed to be an eastern race of the

Mediterranean gull The Mediterranean gull (''Ichthyaetus melanocephalus'') is a small gull. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus ''Ichthyaetus'' is from ''ikhthus'', "fish", and ''aetos'', "eagle", and the specific ''melanocephalus'' is from ''m ...

until 1971 and was traditionally placed in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

'' Larus''.

Description

The gull is 44 to 45 cm long with a stocky, thick body. Non-breeding adults feature uniformly dark-smudged ear-coverts and hind crown, white-tipped wings, prominent, isolated black subterminal markings on outer primaries, and no white leading edge to outer wing. Breeding birds have black hoods (including napes) with grey-brown foreheads, and broad, white, half-moon colouring behind, below, and above their eyes. Their legs are orange and their bills scarlet. The name comes from its status as a relict species.Ming Ma, Ying Chen, Kedeerhan Bayahen, Baowen Hu, Fei Li, Jiaqing Wu, Xiang Gao, Yu Mei
"Seasonal changes in the number of Relict Gull (''Larus relictus'') at Ebinur Lake, Western China"
''Journal of Arid Land'', 2010, volume 2, number 2, pp 151−155, Retrieved May 2, 2015

Distribution and habitat

The gull breeds in several locations in

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...

(''e.g.,''

Galuut Lake Galuut ( mn, Галуут) is a Sums of Mongolia, sum (district) of Bayankhongor Province in southern Mongolia. In 2006, its population was 4,012.

Khukh Lake The Khukh Lake ( mn, Хөх Нуур) is a lake in Choibalsan, Dornod Province, Mongolia. History The bottom of the lake was cleaned in 2017. Geology The lake is the lowest point of Mongolia. It consists of two lakes linked together undergrou ...

, and Chukh Lake), two in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

, one in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, and one in China ( Lake Hongjiannao). Small numbers appear to

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

during the nonbreeding period. There is additional evidence that larger numbers may migrate to eastern China as well, but this is not verified. The gulls breed in colonies on islands in saltwater

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

s. These sites are fragile. Nesting does not occur when lakes dry up or when water levels are too high. When islands become too small or overgrown with vegetation or so large that they join at the shore, the birds do not nest either. During non-breeding periods, the birds can be found on estuarine mud and sandflats.

Status and conservation

The population is estimated to be at 10,000 or less, with numbers dropping. It is classified as "vulnerable" on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

. Its greatest threats are changes of water level in the breeding lakes, predation from other gulls,

hail Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...

storms and

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caus ...

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

disturbance has increased their vulnerability to all these factors, resulting in further risks for the adult gulls and increased mortality for chicks and eggs. To combat this,

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

s in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Russia have been established, for example in the

Mongol Daguur Mongol Daguur ( mn, Монгол дагуур, also referred to as Mongolian Dauria) is a steppe and wetland region in Mongolia listed as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar Site of International Importance. A transboundary ecoregion stra ...

region.

References

Birdlife.orgArkive.org
* Pons J.M., Hassanin, A., and Crochet P.A.(2005). ''Phylogenetic relationships within the Laridae (Charadriiformes: Aves) inferred from mitochondrial markers.'' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37(3):686-699

External links

Blue Ocean Network documentary about the Relie Gull
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1139929 relict gull Birds of Central Asia Birds of Mongolia relict gull Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN Taxa named by Einar Lönnberg