Pallas Gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus)

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The Pallas's gull or great black-headed gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus) is a large gull. 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". This species 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, laying between two and four eggs. It occurs 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.

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Size: 2586px × 2586px
Location: Romania
Photo credit: © Intellifix / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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