Saunders's gull
species of bird
Saunders's gull (Saundersilarus saundersi) or Chinese black-headed gull, is a species of gull in the family Laridae. It is found in China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Macau, Russia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are estuarine waters and intertidal marshes. As with many other gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus, but based on phylogenetic work some have moved it to Chroicocephalus, while others argue it is sufficiently distinct for placement in the monotypic Saundersilarus. In 2023, this transfer was accepted by the International Ornithologists' Union.
It is threatened by habitat loss, particularly by conversion of saltmarsh to agricultural land or fish farms, and industrial development including oil extraction. One of its few remaining strongholds are the Yancheng Coastal Wetlands, which hosts about 20% of the world's population.
Saunders's gull is named after the British ornithologist Howard Saunders.
Description
This is a very small species of gull with a length of just 33 cm (13 in) and, among gulls, only the little gull is smaller. Adults have a black hood and nape during the breeding season.
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Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 5, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q22062067. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2023.
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This entry incorporates text from “Saunders's gull” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.