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Sabine's Gull
(Xema sabini)
: "Fork-tailed Gull", "Xeme"
 German name(s): "Schwalbenmöwe"
Size: 27-33 cm; wing span: 81-87 cm
Weight: 135-225 g
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Similar
species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Sabine's Gulls are small, black-headed gulls.
They take one year to reach maturity, so there are two different
phases of plumage.
During the
breeding
season, they have a dark-grey front half of the head (NOT the nape
of the neck), a mid-grey mantle and white underparts, neck and rump.
The bill is mostly dark-grey, with a yellow tip. The eyes have dark
irises. During the breeding season they are surrounded by very thin
red rings.
In
eclipse
the head turns mostly white, while the nape of the neck becomes
slate-grey. Otherwise they remain unchanged.
In all plumages
the wingtips show a broad black bar, with white spots on the tips
of the primaries.
This is also visible when the wings are folded. These dark tips
on long wings, together with a forked tail, give them a "long, pointed
stern" when perched or floating on water.
In all plumages
the legs and feet are dark-grey. In flight, the wings show a black
outer bar, a grey inner wing tapering off towards the carpal joint,
which leaves the rest of the upperwing look like a white triangle,
with its base along the trailing edge.
Juveniles
have a small white "face", mid-grey ear coverts, cap and nape of
the neck and flanks. The back is slate-grey with neat pale scales
(tips of the wing feathers).
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See
Sabine's Gull at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
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The global distribution of Sabine's Gull is available
HERE
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Sabine's Gulls are a strongly migratory species of the Arctic and the
Pacific and Atlantic Ocean.
Their breeding range is a circumpolar ring spanning the High
Arctic, where they nest in tundra on the northern fringes of
North America and Eurasia and in parts of Svalbard and northern
Greenland.
They spend the rest of the year at sea. Their winter grounds are
off the Pacific coast of Ecuador, Colombia and northern Peru
(sometimes as far southward as Cape Hoorn) and off southern
and south-western Africa, from South Africa to Angola.
During their migration they can be found in much of the Atlantic
Ocean (except the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, the Gulf of
Guinea and the southernmost part), and in parts of the Pacific
Ocean, from the Aleutian Islands to the Galapagos Islands, towards
the north-western South American coastline. Note that during
migration they "take short cuts" and can be found crossing the
North American continent and, although less common, are also
occasionally found in inland Europe.
In Europe Sabine's Gulls are found as vagrants during their
migration, mostly along the Atlantic coastline, from northern
Norway to Gibraltar.
However, they are known to also occasionally migrate across
the continent, as far from the coastline as Hungary.
Sabine's Gulls are a predominantly coastal or pelagic species.
They breed in Arctic tundra and spend most of the rest of the
year, including the northern winter, on the wing above sea.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
J. Pires reports spotting a Sabine's Gull
on a pelagic off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, in October 2020.
All sighting and photographic information presented on this
page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.
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Photos |
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Lateral view of a juvenile Sabine's Gull in flight;
note the strong dark underwing bar near the trailing edge
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]
Distant lateral view of a juvenile Sabine's Gull in flight, wings up;
note the dark-grey inner upperwing
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
