Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...

Saunders's Gull

Chroicocephalus saundersi

The Saunders's gull, or Chinese black-headed gull, is a diminutive member of the gull family Laridae, notable for its small stature, with a length of merely 33 cm. This species is distinguished by its striking black hood and nape during the breeding season, contrasting with its otherwise pale plumage, grey wings, and a distinctive narrow black band on the tail. The legs and bill are black, and the bird has a rather compact body shape.

Identification Tips

In breeding plumage, adults exhibit a black hood and nape, which is a key feature for identification. The wings are pale grey, and the narrow black tail band is quite prominent. The bill and legs are black. During the non-breeding season, the hood and nape become mottled grey, and the wings show white tips with black markings on the primaries.

Habitat

The Saunders's gull favors estuarine waters and intertidal marshes, particularly saltmarshes dominated by seepweed (Suaeda glauca), where it breeds.

Distribution

This species is found across various regions in Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Japan, North and South Korea, Macau, Russia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It breeds in eastern China and the west coast of Korea and overwinters in the southern parts of its range.

Behaviour

The Saunders's gull is known for its unique foraging technique, flying about ten meters above the ground and swiftly descending upon prey such as mudskippers, crabs, fish, and worms. It also engages in kleptoparasitism, stealing food from other bird species. With only partially webbed feet, it is not adept at swimming and prefers to stay on land, moving with the tide along the beach.

Breeding

Breeding occurs in saltmarshes, with a simple scrape in the ground serving as a nest. The species is monogamous, with pairs defending their territory. Clutch size ranges from two to three eggs, laid in May, and incubation lasts approximately 22 days. Both adults and fledglings migrate to winter quarters in October.

Conservation status

The Saunders's gull is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, with an estimated population of 21,000 to 22,000 individuals that appears to be declining. The primary threat to this species is habitat degradation, particularly the loss of saltmarshes due to aquaculture development and the invasive spread of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). Disturbance leading to increased predation on eggs and chicks is also a significant concern.

App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.

Saunders's Gulls on Birda

Sightings
A map showing the sighting location
🎋
Vaidhussen Acbaraly
03 Oct 2024 - 6:20am
Vietnam

More Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

A photo of a Black Noddy (Anous minutus)

Black Noddy

Anous minutus
Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Emma L
App got me interested in birding!
Super friendly community <3 This app got me interested in birding! It teaches me cool stuff and its super friendly, and fun :) The species guide is really developing my knowledge, and i love seeing cool new birds from round the world!
Carl B
Helped me to identify more birds
Love this app and has helped me to identify more birds. The challenges and badges are great for keeping the motivation going to get out and keep birding.
Bryan C
Clean and easy to use
Really enjoying this app, it's clean and easy to use. I love the ease of being able to add those one-off birds without starting a whole checklist. I also like the social aspect, like the parts of my Facebook I like, without the ads and junk, just birds. Can't wait to see it become more populated.
Erna M
I really like Birda
I really like Birda. I also use other birding apps and have Birda with E-bird going at the same time.
Ellesse_W
Learning Birding with Birda
I’m relatively new to birding as a hobby, and Birda is a great way to keep track off all the species I see. I’m still working on my ID skills, but the app is great for figuring out potential species, and the online community is so friendly and helpful. Definitely recommend Birda to both early and serious birders! 🐦
Marlster24
Very Wholesome App
Joined this app with a new interest in watching birds to help me find out what I was spotting. The community is very active in helping identify birds which is great and everyone is very kind so it’s just a nice wholesome community. I would definitely recommend this for any bird spotter 😄
Alice J
Awesome Birding Community
I absolutely love the community aspect of this app. The app is so user friendly and has fun interactive challenges to get you out birding. I’ve tried others but since I’ve started using Birda I’ve not gone back!
Amylia S
Best app for any birding person!
I love this app!! I am so addicted to it when I saw it had 3 star review I was so sad! The app is awesome!! The best app for any birding person! ❤️
D3Nature
Great app for learning Birds
I’ve been using the app for a couple of months and love it....Someone said it’s like a real life Pokémon Go for birds. They’re not far off! It’s something that the family can do that gets you out and about. Well worth downloading no matter your age.
Tralisalandhoop
Fantastic app - Love it!
Love this app and have used it almost daily. Lots of species information and easy to use. Love seeing birds spotted by other users in the UK and worldwide.
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright © 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.