Sabine's Gull
Xema sabini (Sabine, 1819)
≈37 cmLength87 cmWingspan198 gWeight
It is a small gull with a sharply defined black, white and gray wing pattern and a slightly forked white tail as an adult.
Busiest months: September · Most records: United States, Canada, Spain
Looks like Black-legged Kittiwake
How to identify
Field marks
- Adult back gray; outer primaries black, inner primaries white
- Bill black with a yellow tip
- Adult tail white and slightly forked
- Hood dark gray in the breeding season, with a single narrow black collar along lower edge
Male, female and young
Juvenile also has a three-colored upperwing, but brown replaces gray and the tail has a black terminal band; takes about two years to acquire adult plumage.
Voice
Very high-pitched, sharp squeaking calls.
Similar species
Where and when it's recorded
Busiest months: September · Most records: United States, Canada, Spain
Sabine's Gull has been recorded at 375 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 45 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- St. Paul IslandUnited States731 records
- GambellUnited States672 records
- Estaca de Bares – Observatorio de aves y entornoSpain621 records
More places
- Bridges of RossIreland363 records
- Cherry Creek SPUnited States282 records
- Antelope Island SP – CausewayUnited States263 records
- China Lake NAWS – Sewage PondsUnited States224 records
- Southeast Farallon IslandUnited States177 records
- Whitefish PointUnited States174 records
- Lagerman Agricultural Preserve – Lagerman ReservoirUnited States172 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
Sabine's gull is a small gull. It is usually treated as the only species placed in the genus Xema, though some authors include it with other gulls in a wide view of the genus Larus. It has also been known historically as fork-tailed gull or xeme (from the genus name).
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Sabine's Gull?
The Sabine's Gull is about ≈37 cm long, with a wingspan of 87 cm and weighs around 198 g.
Where does the Sabine's Gull live?
Its breeding range: Palearctic, North America: patchily on Arctic coasts of northwestern, eastern Greenland, Svalbard (north of Norway), northeastern Siberia from Taimyr Peninsula to Wrangel Island (north of Chukotka Peninsula) and Gulf of Anadyr (eastern Chukotka Peninsula; northeastern Russia); St. Lawrence Island (northern Bering Sea), western, northern Alaska and Arctic Canada. It is most often recorded in United States, Canada and Spain.
When is the best time to see the Sabine's Gull?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in September (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Sabine's Gull endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Sabine's Gull as Least Concern.
What does the Sabine's Gull eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Sabine's Gull in?
It belongs to the family Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae), order Charadriiformes.
At a glance
- Length
- ≈37 cm
- Wingspan
- 87 cm
- Weight
- 198 g
- Habitat
- Ocean
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Varied
- Migration
- Partial migrant
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 265 mm
- Tail
- 114 mm
- Bill
- 32 mm
- Tarsus
- 33 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Palearctic, North America: patchily on Arctic coasts of northwestern, eastern Greenland, Svalbard (north of Norway), northeastern Siberia from Taimyr Peninsula to Wrangel Island (north of Chukotka Peninsula) and Gulf of Anadyr (eastern Chukotka Peninsula; northeastern Russia); St. Lawrence Island (northern Bering Sea), western, northern Alaska and Arctic Canada
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Gulls, Terns, Skimmers Laridae
- Genus
- Xema
More from the family Gulls, Terns, Skimmers
African SkimmerRynchops flavirostris
Indian SkimmerRynchops albicollis
Black SkimmerRynchops niger
Atlantic White TernGygis alba
Little White TernGygis microrhyncha
Brown NoddyAnous stolidus
Lesser NoddyAnous tenuirostris
Black NoddyAnous minutus
Grey NoddyAnous albivitta
Blue NoddyAnous ceruleus
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Donna Pomeroy. ↗
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