Mongolian Gull

Larus mongolicus Sushkin, 1925

Mongolian Gull, Larus mongolicus, breeds across inland parts of the Palearctic, from the Altai Republic and Lake Baikal through Mongolia, with a further breeding site at Lake Khanka in north-east China and a small colony on Yellow Sea islands west of the Korean Peninsula. Outside the breeding season it moves to coastal Japan, the Korean Peninsula, eastern and southern China, and Taiwan. It is a gull of the white-headed group, first described by Sushkin in 1925, and is best recognised by the careful study needed to separate it from close relatives.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Breeding range

Palearctic: Altai Republic to Lake Baikal (sc Russia) and Mongolia; Lake Khanka (Heilongjiang, ne China); and Yellow Sea is. (w Korean Pen.)

Nonbreeding range

coastal Japan, Korean Pen., e China and Taiwan