Pallas's Gull (Larus ichthyaetus) - BirdLife species factsheet

Pallas's Gull Larus ichthyaetus

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Species attributes

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	4,450,000 km²	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	25,600,000 km²	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	poor	estimated	2012
Population trend	increasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	12.4 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population is estimated at 125,000-1,100,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2015). The European population is estimated at 25,100-28,300 pairs, which equates to 50,100-56,500 mature individuals (BirdLife International 2015).

Trend justification: The overall population trend is increasing, although some populations have unknown trends (Wetlands International 2015). The European population trend is fluctuating (BirdLife International 2015).

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Afghanistan	extant	native				yes
Armenia	extant	native				yes
Austria	extant	vagrant
Azerbaijan	extant	native	yes			yes
Bahrain	extant	native			yes
Bangladesh	extant	native
Belarus	extant	vagrant			yes
Belgium	extant	vagrant
Bhutan	extant	native
Bulgaria	extant	vagrant			yes
China (mainland)	extant	native
Cyprus	extant	vagrant
Denmark	extant	vagrant
Djibouti	extant	uncertain
Egypt	extant	native
Eritrea	extant	native
Ethiopia	extant	native			yes
France	extant	vagrant
Georgia	extant	native			yes
Greece	extant	vagrant
Hong Kong (China)	extant	vagrant
Hungary	extant	vagrant
India	extant	native
Iran, Islamic Republic of	extant	native			yes	yes
Iraq	extant	native			yes	yes
Israel	extant	native
Italy	extant	vagrant			yes
Japan	extant	vagrant
Jordan	extant	native			yes	yes
Kazakhstan	extant	native		yes
Kenya	extant	native
Kuwait	extant	native			yes	yes
Kyrgyzstan	extant	native		yes
Laos	extant	vagrant
Latvia	extant	vagrant
Lebanon	extant	vagrant			yes	yes
Maldives	extant	vagrant
Malta	extant	vagrant
Mongolia	extant	native		yes
Myanmar	extant	native
Nepal	extant	native
Netherlands	extant	vagrant
Norway	extant	vagrant
Oman	extant	native			yes
Pakistan	extant	native
Palestine	extant	native			yes
Poland	extant	vagrant
Portugal	extant	vagrant
Qatar	extant	native			yes
Romania	extant	native			yes
Russia	extant	native	yes	yes		yes
Russia (Asian)	extant	native		yes
Russia (Central Asian)	extant	native		yes
Russia (European)	extant	native	yes			yes
Saudi Arabia	extant	native			yes	yes
Somalia	extant	vagrant
Sri Lanka	extant	native
Sudan	extant	native				yes
Sweden	extant	vagrant
Syria	extant	native			yes	yes
Tajikistan	extant	native		yes
Thailand	extant	native
Tunisia	extant	vagrant
Türkiye	extant	native			yes
Turkmenistan	extinct	native		yes
Uganda	extant	vagrant
Ukraine	extant	native	yes			yes
United Arab Emirates	extant	native			yes	yes
United Kingdom	extant	vagrant
Uzbekistan	extant	native		yes
Yemen	extant	native			yes	yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name
China (mainland)	Bangong Co
China (mainland)	Barkol Lake and grassland
China (mainland)	Bosten Lake
China (mainland)	Changtang plateau
China (mainland)	Desert and wetland from Northern Urumqi to Dabancheng
China (mainland)	Oasis, Desert and Wetland at Mosuowan
China (mainland)	Sayram Nur
Iran, Islamic Republic of	Miankaleh Peninsula and Gorgan Bay
Iran, Islamic Republic of	Monde Protected Area
Kazakhstan	Caspian Sea shore between Volga and Ural River Deltas
Kazakhstan	Delta of the Ural River
Kazakhstan	Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve
Kazakhstan	Lake Alakol Islands
Kazakhstan	Naurzum State Nature Reserve
Kazakhstan	Teniz-Karakamys Lakes
Kazakhstan	Vicinity of Korgalzhyn village
Kazakhstan	Zhumay-Mayshukyr Lake System
Mongolia	Khar Us Lake
Mongolia	Uvs Lake
Oman	Al Batinah coast
Oman	Barr al Hikman
Oman	Ras al Hadd
Russia (Asian)	Trekhozerki lakes
Russia (Central Asian)	Chanovskaya lake system
Russia (Central Asian)	Elbanskye islands (Obsky reservoir)
Russia (European)	Beglitskaya sand-spit
Russia (European)	Dadynskiye lakes
Russia (European)	Delta of the Kuban' river
Russia (European)	Delta of the River Don
Russia (European)	Ivan-Karaul island
Russia (European)	Khanskoye Lake
Russia (European)	Kiziltash limans
Russia (European)	Kurnikov liman
Russia (European)	Yeiski salt-lakes
Ukraine	Kinburns'kyj peninsula
Ukraine	Syvash Bay
Uzbekistan	Khorezm Fish Farm and adjacent lakes

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Aquaculture Ponds	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha)	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban Areas	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	suitable	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Freshwater Lakes	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Estuaries	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	non-breeding
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	suitable	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	suitable	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes	major	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools	major	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools	major	breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threats & impact

Threat (level 1)

Threat (level 2)

Impact and Stresses

Human intrusions & disturbance

Recreational activities

Timing

Scope

Severity

Impact

Ongoing

Minority (<50%)

Slow, Significant Declines

Low Impact: 5

Stresses
Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success

Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases

Viral/prion-induced diseases - Avian Influenza Virus (H5N1 subtype)

Timing

Scope

Severity

Impact

Ongoing

Minority (<50%)

Negligible declines

Low Impact: 4

Stresses
Species mortality

Residential & commercial development

Tourism & recreation areas

Timing

Scope

Severity

Impact

Ongoing

Minority (<50%)

Slow, Significant Declines

Low Impact: 5

Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Utilisation

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Pallas's Gull Larus ichthyaetus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/pallass-gull-larus-ichthyaetus on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.