• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Climate Change maps
• Reference and further resources

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.

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

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	7,050,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	8,860,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	poor	estimated	1995
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	11.5 years	-	-	-

Population justification: Delany and Scott (2006) estimate the population to be 150,000-300,000 individuals.

Trend justification: Although Wetlands International consider the population to be increasing, the population is suspected to be in decline owing to unsustainable levels of exploitation (del Hoyo et al. 1996).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Bahrain	extant	vagrant			yes
Djibouti	extant	native	yes
Egypt	extant	native	yes
Eritrea	extant	native	yes
India	extant	vagrant
Iran, Islamic Republic of	extant	native			yes
Israel	extant	vagrant
Jordan	extant	vagrant
Kenya	extant	native	yes
Lebanon	extant	vagrant			yes
Maldives	extant	vagrant
Mozambique	extant	native			yes
Oman	extant	native	yes			yes
Pakistan	extant	native	yes
Qatar	extant	native				yes
Saudi Arabia	extant	native	yes
Somalia	extant	native	yes
Sri Lanka	extant	vagrant
Sudan	extant	native	yes
Tanzania	extant	native	yes
United Arab Emirates	extant	native	yes
Yemen	extant	native	yes			yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Iran, Islamic Republic of	Bahu Kalat (Gandu) Protected Area
Iran, Islamic Republic of	Hormoz island
Iran, Islamic Republic of	Pozam - Maytab coast
Kenya	Sabaki River Mouth
Kenya	Tana River Delta
Oman	Barr al Hikman
Oman	Daymaniyat Islands
Oman	Duqm
Oman	Halaaniyaat Islands
Oman	Jazirat Hino
Oman	Khawr ad Dahariz
Oman	Khawr Hassan
Oman	Khor Mughsayl
Oman	Masirah island
Oman	Ras al Hadd
Saudi Arabia	Al-Wajh Bank
Saudi Arabia	Farasan Islands
Saudi Arabia	Umm al-Qamari
Tanzania	Dar es Salaam coast
United Arab Emirates	Alqurm Wa Lehfeiyah (Khor Kalba)
United Arab Emirates	Dayyinah Island (Diynah)
United Arab Emirates	Qarnain Island
United Arab Emirates	Sir Bu Na'air Island
Yemen	Abdullah Gharib lagoons
Yemen	Darsa
Yemen	Islands north of Al-Hudaydah
Yemen	Islands off Bir Ali
Yemen	Jaza'ir al-Hanish
Yemen	Qishn beach
Yemen	Ra's Fartak
Yemen	Zubayr group of islands

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level	suitable	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	major	non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	major	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Mud Flats and Salt Flats	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Mud Flats and Salt Flats	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	major	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	major	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	major	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	major	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	major	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	major	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Tidepools	major	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Tidepools	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Coral Reef - Back Slope	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Coral Reef - Back Slope	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Coral Reef - Foreslope (Outer Reef Slope)	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Coral Reef - Foreslope (Outer Reef Slope)	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Coral Reef - Inter-Reef Rubble Substrate	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Coral Reef - Inter-Reef Rubble Substrate	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Coral Reef - Inter-Reef Soft Substrate	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Coral Reef - Inter-Reef Soft Substrate	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Coral Reef - Lagoon	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Coral Reef - Lagoon	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Coral Reef - Outer Reef Channel	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Coral Reef - Outer Reef Channel	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Estuaries	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Estuaries	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success
Energy production & mining	Oil & gas drilling	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 3
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Oil spills	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Sooty Gull Larus hemprichii. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/sooty-gull-larus-hemprichii on 23/12/2024.
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 23/12/2024.