Relict Gull

Ichthyaetus relictus (Lönnberg, 1931)

Relict Gull, Ichthyaetus relictus, breeds on lakes in north-east Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and Transbaikalia, and is rare away from the breeding season on coasts of the Korean Peninsula, Bohai Bay, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. It is a gull of the Palearctic and was first described by Lönnberg in 1931. The species nests in colonies on islands in saltwater lakes, with breeding from early June to early August. Its breeding sites are sensitive to drying, flooding, overgrowth and changes that link islands to the shore.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Breeding range

Palearctic: lakes of ne Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi (nc China) and Transbaikalia (se Russia)

Nonbreeding range

rare to coasts of Korean Pen., Bohai Bay, Yellow Sea and East China Sea