Ross's gull
species of bird
Ross's gull (Rhodostethia rosea) is a small gull, the only species in its genus, although it has been suggested the genus should be merged with the closely related Hydrocoloeus, which otherwise only includes the little gull.
This bird is named after the British explorer James Clark Ross. Its breeding grounds were first discovered in 1905 by Sergei Aleksandrovich Buturlin near the village of Pokhodsk in northeastern Yakutia, while visiting the area as a judge. The genus name Rhodostethia is from Ancient Greek rhodon, "rose", and stethos, "breast". The specific rosea is Latin for "rose-coloured".
Description
This small bird is similar in size and some plumage characteristics to the little gull. It is slightly larger and longer winged than the little gull, and has more pointed wings and a wedge-shaped tail. Its legs are red. Summer adults are pale grey above and white below, with a pink flush to the body feathering, and a neat black neck ring. In winter, the neck collar is lost, and a small dark crescent develops behind the eye; the pink colour, which is diet-related, is lost in some but not all individuals.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q747817. The Library of Congress control number is sh96006613. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1905.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ross'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.