https://en.encyclopedia.kz/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Relict_gullRelict gull - Revision history2026-07-03T06:54:28ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.23.15https://en.encyclopedia.kz/index.php?title=Relict_gull&diff=7692&oldid=prevModerator: 1 revision2026-05-16T20:02:21Z<p>1 revision</p>
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</td></tr></table>Moderatorhttps://en.encyclopedia.kz/index.php?title=Relict_gull&diff=7691&oldid=prevWilliam Avery: Refine category2016-12-20T23:44:17Z<p>Refine category</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Taxobox<br />
| name = Relict gull<br />
| status = VU<br />
| status_system = IUCN3.1<br />
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{IUCN2013.1| id = 22694447| title = Larus relictus| assessor = BirdLife International| year = 2012| downloaded = 29 November 2013}}</ref><br />
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia<br />
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]<br />
| classis = [[bird|Aves]]<br />
| ordo = [[Charadriiformes]]<br />
| familia = [[Laridae]]<br />
| genus = ''[[Ichthyaetus]]''<br />
| species = '''''I. relictus'''''<br />
| binomial = ''Ichthyaetus relictus''<br />
| binomial_authority = ([[Einar Lönnberg|Lönnberg]], 1931, [[Tsondol]], southern [[Gobi]])<br />
| synonyms = *''Larus relictus'' <small>Lönnberg, 1931</small><br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''relict gull''' or ''' Central Asian gull''' (''Ichthyaetus relictus'') 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]]''.<br />
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==Description==<br />
The gull is 44 to 45&nbsp;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 (biology)|relict]] species.<ref>Ming Ma, Ying Chen, Kedeerhan Bayahen, Baowen Hu, Fei Li, Jiaqing Wu, Xiang Gao, Yu Mei, [http://jal.xjegi.com/fileup/PDF/29.pdf "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</ref><br />
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==Distribution and habitat==<br />
The gull breeds in several locations in [[Mongolia]] (''e.g.,'' [[Galuut Lake]], [[Khukh Lake]], and [[Chukh Lake]]), two in [[Kazakhstan]], one in [[Russia]], and one in [[China]] ([[Yulin, Shaanxi#Lake Hongjiannao|Lake Hongjiannao]]). Small numbers appear to [[bird migration|migrate]] to [[South Korea]] during the nonbreeding period. There is additional evidence that larger numbers may migrate to eastern China as well, but this is not verified.<br />
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The gulls breed in colonies on islands in [[Seawater|saltwater]] [[lake]]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.<br />
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==Status and conservation==<br />
The population is estimated to be at 10,000 or less, with numbers dropping. It is classified as "vulnerable" on the [[IUCN Red List]]. Its greatest threats are changes of water level in the breeding lakes, predation from other gulls, [[hail]]storms and [[flooding]]. [[Human]] 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]]s in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Russia have been established, for example in the [[Mongol Daguur]] region.<br />
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==References==<br />
<!-- Forktail6:43,66,13:122. Waterbirds29:375. --><br />
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{{reflist}}<br />
*[http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/search/species_search.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3246&m=0 Birdlife.org]<br />
*[http://www.arkive.org/relict-gull/larus-relictus/ Arkive.org]<br />
* 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<br />
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==External links==<br />
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l12FX6sZ_X0 Blue Ocean Network documentary about the Relie Gull]<br />
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{{Gulls}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:gull, relict}}<br />
[[Category:Larus|relict gull]]<br />
[[Category:Birds of Kazakhstan]]<br />
[[Category:Birds of Mongolia]]<br />
[[Category:Asian migratory birds]]<br />
[[Category:Birds described in 1931]]</div>William Avery