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 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 nom ...

Larus ''Larus'' is a large genus of gulls with worldwide distribution (by far the greatest species diversity is in the Northern Hemisphere). Many of its species are abundant and well-known birds in their ranges. Until about 2005–2007, most gulls ...

''.

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 A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

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 million, ...

(''e.g.,'' Galuut Lake, Khukh Lake, 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 to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, 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-eig ...

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

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

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 Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...

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 large ...

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, hailstorms 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. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

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, cultu ...

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 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