Relict Gull
Ichthyaetus relictus
The Relict Gull (Ichthyaetus relictus) is a rare skimmers, noddies, terns, and gull found in 7 countries. The relict gull or Central Asian gull is a medium-sized gull.
About the Relict Gull
The relict gull or Central Asian gull is a medium-sized gull. It was believed to be an eastern race of the Mediterranean gull until 1971 and was traditionally placed in the genus Larus.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
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.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Taiwan, Macao SAR China.
When to see it
Best months: January, March, April, May, June, August, September, October, November, with peak activity in May. It is a passage migrant species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Relict Gull?
- The gull is 44 to 45 cm long with a stocky, thick body. Full identification notes are on this page.
- Where can you see a Relict Gull?
- The Relict Gull occurs in 7 countries, including China, Mongolia, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR China and Kazakhstan.
- What birds look similar to a Relict Gull?
- The Relict Gull is most easily confused with the White-eyed Gull, the Sooty Gull and the Pallas's Gull.
- Is the Relict Gull endangered?
- The Relict Gull is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Relict Gull for real
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