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. It breeds in colonies on arctic coasts and tundra, laying two or three spotted olive-brown eggs in a ground nest lined with grass. Sabine's gull is pelagic outside the breeding season. It takes a wide variety of mainly animal food, and will eat any suitable small prey.
Region
Circumpolar Arctic and tropical offshore oceans
Typical Environment
Breeds in scattered colonies on coastal Arctic tundra across North America and Eurasia, typically near shallow freshwater pools and marshy lowlands. After breeding it migrates offshore, wintering over productive upwelling systems in the eastern Pacific (notably off Peru and Ecuador) and the eastern Atlantic (off West Africa and southwest Africa). It often concentrates along oceanic convergence zones and continental shelf edges. During migration it can occur along both Atlantic and Pacific coasts, sometimes far from land after storms.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 500 m
Climate Zone
Other
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Sabine's gull is the only species in the genus Xema and is famous for its striking tri-colored upperwing pattern and shallowly forked tail. It breeds on Arctic tundra but spends most of the year far offshore over cold and tropical upwelling zones. Outside the breeding season it is highly pelagic and can be seen following ocean fronts where plankton and small fish concentrate.
Adult flying in Iceland
Sabine's gull flying at the fjord Trygghamna in Spitsbergen
Sabine's gull eggs
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
tern-like with quick buoyant wingbeats and agile glides
Social Behavior
Breeds colonially or in loose groups on the ground, often near freshwater pools on tundra. Pairs are monogamous within a season and share incubation of 2–3 eggs and chick-rearing. Birds gather in flocks during migration and on the wintering grounds, especially along ocean fronts with concentrated prey.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Vocalizations are high-pitched, nasal, and mewing, with sharp kek or kree notes. At colonies it gives rattling, chattering calls during displays and alarm situations.
Plumage
Breeding adults show a crisp dark gray to blackish hood bordered by a narrow white line, with a striking tri-colored upperwing pattern (black, white, and gray) and a shallowly forked tail. Nonbreeding adults lose the hood, retaining a dark ear spot and nape smudge; juveniles are brown-washed with scalloped upperparts and the same bold wing pattern.
Diet
Primarily takes small fish, marine zooplankton (such as amphipods and other crustaceans), and marine invertebrates at sea. On the breeding grounds it consumes emerging aquatic insects and their larvae, as well as small crustaceans from tundra pools. It often feeds by picking prey from the surface while on the wing or by briefly settling to snatch items. Occasionally it scavenges or forages near marine mammals and fishing vessels.
Preferred Environment
At sea it favors convergence zones, upwellings, and shelf edges where prey is brought to the surface. On breeding territories it feeds around shallow ponds, wet tundra flats, and coastal marshes.
