Pallas’s Gull
Photo: Dmitry Mikhirev · CC BY-SA 4.0

Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls

Pallas’s Gull

Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus

LCLeast Concern
Family
Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls (Laridae)
Order
Charadriiformes

Overview

Pallas's gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus), also known as the great black-headed gull, is a large bird species. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. Ichthyaetus is from ikhthus, "fish", and aetos, "eagle".

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Breeds patchily on lake islands from Crimea eastward through Kazakhstan and Mongolia to Gansu, Qinghai, and Inner Mongolia (west-central China); winters to coasts, landlocked seas, and rivers from Black Sea eastward across Bay of Bengal to Bangladesh and south-central Myanmar.

Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.