Rhodostethia rosea
The Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) is an exquisite and delicate member of the gull family, renowned for its distinctive appearance and elusive nature in the High Arctic. Measuring approximately 30-32 cm (12-13 inches) in length with a wingspan of 75-80 cm (30-31 inches), it is one of the smallest gulls. Breeding adults exhibit a unique and diagnostic rosy-pink flush across their white underparts, a pearly grey back, and a striking thin black neck collar. Its most singular field mark, settin...
Primarily inhabits the High Arctic, breeding on low-lying tundra near coastal lagoons, river deltas, and freshwater pools. During winter, it lives pelagically in polynyas and along the ice edge of the Arctic Ocean.
Mainly insectivorous during the breeding season, feeding on chironomid flies and other insects; otherwise, it consumes small crustaceans, zooplankton, and small fish, typically caught by surface-feeding or aerial hawking.
Ross's Gulls are predominantly diurnal during the continuous daylight of the Arctic summer, roosting on ice floes or shorelines when not foraging. They are opportunistic feeders, employing aerial hawking to catch insects in flight, surface-skimming for small crustaceans and fish, and occasionally...
The breeding range of the Ross's Gull is restricted to the High Arctic, predominantly found in the remote northern regions of Siberia, particularly the Taymyr Peninsula, Yakutia, and Chukotka. Small, isolated breeding populations have also been documented rarely in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago...
Least Concern
- Ross's Gull is named after Sir James Clark Ross, a British naval officer and explorer who discovered it during an Arctic expedition in 1823. - It is the only gull species in the world to possess a short, wedge-shaped tail. - The breeding adult's striking rosy-pink flush is unique among gulls an...