Sabine's Gull
A species of Sabine's gull, Also known as Hawk-tailed Gull Scientific name : Xema sabini Genus : Sabine's gull
Sabine's Gull, A species of Sabine's gull
Also known as:
Hawk-tailed Gull
Botanical name: Xema sabini
Genus: Sabine's gull
Content
Description General Info
Photo By K&J Boadway , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
The Sabine's gull is a small gull, 27 to 33 cm (11–13 in) in length and weighing 135 to 225 g (4.8–7.9 oz). The wings are long, thin and pointed with a span of between 81 to 87 cm (32–34 in). The bill, which is black with a yellow tip, is around 2.5 cm (0.98 in) long. This species is easy to identify through its striking wing pattern. The adult has a pale grey back and wing coverts, black primary flight feathers and white secondaries. The white tail is forked. The male's hood darkens during breeding season. Young birds have a similar tricoloured wing pattern, but the grey is replaced by brown, and the tail has a black terminal band. Juveniles take two years to attain full adult plumage. Sabine's gulls have an unusual molt pattern for gulls. Fledged birds retain their juvenile plumage through the autumn and do not start molting into their first winter plumage until they have reached their wintering grounds. Adults have their complete molt in the spring prior to the spring migration, and have a partial molt in the autumn after returning to the wintering area, a reversal of the usual pattern for gulls. They have a very high-pitched and squeaking call. 
Size
33-36 cm (13-14 in)
Life Expectancy
15-34 years
Nest Placement
Ground
Clutch Size
1 - 4 eggs
Feeding Habits
Sabine's Gull primarily consumes small fish, crustaceans, various insects, and fishing offal. It utilizes diverse feeding behaviors, ranging from wading and swimming in wetlands to gleaning prey from vegetation or water surfaces. Sabine's Gull adapts its feeding strategies by spinning in water or hawking insects in flight. Its diet includes larvae of beetles and other insects, spiders, earthworms, and occasionally other birds' eggs or young.
Habitat
Sabine's Gull inhabit tundra regions and are closely associated with wetlands featuring mosses and sedges. These birds prefer low-lying areas near freshwater sources or tidal marshes, primarily on coastal plains or islands. They thrive in a variety of wetland environments, from marshes and ponds interlaced with grasslands to salty environments in Greenland. Specifically, they are drawn to zones with water sedge, pendant grass, and dwarf willows. During migration, they frequent coastal zones, estuaries, and mudflats, while in winter, they are found in pelagic waters with upwelling, from tropical to temperate zones.
Nest Behavior
The nesting behavior of sabine's Gull includes creating nests where the female lays eggs. Although specific egg-laying patterns are not provided, both parents are involved in caring for the eggs and young, trading off roles in typical avian fashion.
Nest Characteristics
Sabine's Gull nests are often located on the edges of small ponds, marshy tundra near shores, or on islands within ponds. These nests are shallow depressions, typically in mossy vegetation or gravel, with minimal lining. They average 5.4 inches in diameter and are 0.7 inches deep.
Dite type
Aquatic invertebrate eater
General Info
Behavior
Sabine's Gull display unique social and breeding behaviors, often arriving in the Arctic prior to ice melt. They partake in flocking and foraging along coastlines while awaiting tundra thawing. Sabine's Gull exhibit monogamous pair bonds, with repeated territory settlement and male-to-female prey presentations distinguished by specific bill posturing and mating rituals. Both sexes are involved in nest-building, incubation, and offspring care. Remarkably, their young can take short flights even before full feather development. Post-breeding, sabine's Gull transition back to coastal areas, forming tight flocks for nocturnal migration to winter habitats.
Distribution Area
It breeds in the Arctic and has a circumpolar distribution through northernmost North America and Eurasia. It migrates south in autumn; most of the population winters at sea in the Pacific off western South America in the cold waters of the Humboldt Current, while Greenland and eastern Canadian birds cross the Atlantic by way of the westernmost fringes of Europe to winter off southwest Africa in the cold waters of the Benguela Current. Occasionally individual Sabine's gulls can be seen off other coasts such as the northeastern United States or further east in Europe, typically following autumn storms. It is recorded often enough inland in North America, Europe, and even Siberia, that it has been said to exhibit "cross-continental migration" in addition to migration at sea.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Shorebirds Family
Gulls Genus
Sabine's gull Species
Sabine's Gull 
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