Saunders's gull is one of the world's smallest gulls, 11–13 in (29–32 cm) long, and it breeds only on salt marshes around the Yellow Sea in China and Korea. It lives only in East Asia and isn't found in North America. Its wild population is small and declining.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 11–13 in (29–32 cm) long. Breeding adults wear a black hood with a white eye ring, pale gray wings, and a white body and tail. The short, thick bill is black and the legs are red. In winter the head turns white with a dark spot behind the eye.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Tidal mudflats
- Estuaries
- Salt marshes
- Range
- Breeds along the coast of eastern China and on Korea's west coast. Winters in southern China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, South Korea, southwestern Japan, and Vietnam.
- Preferred conditions
- Nests in coastal salt marshes covered with low seepweed (Suaeda glauca). In winter it uses estuaries and fish ponds, and some birds move inland to lakes and marshes.
Behavior
- Diet
- Mudskippers, crabs, small fish, and worms. It sometimes steals food from other birds.
- Activity
- It hovers over mudflats, about 30 ft (10 m) up, then drops onto prey. It is a weak swimmer with only partly webbed feet and spends most of its time on land.
Life cycle
- Nest
- A simple nest on the ground in sparse salt-marsh vegetation.
- Clutch size
- 2–3 eggs, laid in May
- Incubation
- About 22 days, shared by both parents
Name and classification
- About the name
- It was long placed in the big gull genus Larus, and some called it Chroicocephalus saundersi. Today it sits alone in its own genus, Saundersilarus. It's also called Chinese black-headed gull.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- VUVulnerableHigh risk of extinction in the wild
- Status
- In China, its salt marshes are being lost to fish ponds, farmland, oil drilling, and industry, and invasive smooth cordgrass has degraded the marshes where it nests. Disturbance at colonies also exposes eggs and chicks to predators.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- It's named for Howard Saunders, a British ornithologist.
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