Pallas`s Gull or Great Black-Headed Gull is an Indian Bird that bears a scientific name "Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus" is a large gull. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus.
Breeding Season of Pallas`s Gull
Pallas`s Gull breeds in colonies in marshes and islands from southern Russia to Mongolia. It is migratory, wintering in the eastern Mediterranean, Arabia and India. This gull nests on the ground, lying between two and four eggs.
Occurrence of Pallas`s Gull
Pallas`s Gull inhabits in Western Europe only as a rare vagrant. In Great Britain a recent review left a single occurrence in 1859 as the only acceptable record of this bird. The species also occurs as a vagrant in differing parts of the Indian Ocean, south of its normal range, and along the northern and eastern coasts of Africa, where it visits annually on an irregular basis
Structure of Pallas`s Gull
Pallas`s Gull is a very large gull. It is called as the world`s largest Black-Headed Gull and the third largest species of Gull in the world, after the great black-backed gull and the glaucous Gull.
Size of Pallas`s Gull
Pallas`s Gull measures 55-72 cm in length with a 142 to 170 cm wingspan. The weight of Pallas`s Gull can vary from 0.96-2.1 kg, with an average of 1.6 kg in males and 1.22 kg in females. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 43.5 to 52 cm, the bill is 4.7 to 7.3 cm and the tarsus is 6.5 to 8.4 cm (2.6 to 3.3 in). The summer adults of Pallas`s gull are unmistakable, since no other gull of this size has a black hood. The adults have grey wings and back, with conspicuous white "mirrors" at the wing tips. The legs are yellow and the bill is red.
Prey of Pallas`s Gull
Pallas`s Gulls are mostly predatory in nature. They hunt fish, crustaceans, insects and even small mammals.
Position of Pallas`s Gull
Pallas`s Gull is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds applies. This bird has a deep, rather nasal flight-call which resembles the call of the lesser black-backed gull. Although they are noisy at colonies, Pallas`s Gulls are mostly silent when breeding.
