Saunders's gull or Chinese black-headed gull, is a species of gull in the family Laridae. It is found in China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Macau, Russia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are estuarine waters and intertidal marshes. As with many other gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus, but based on phylogenetic work some have moved it to Chroicocephalus, while others argue it is sufficiently distinct for placement in the monotypic Saundersilarus. In 2023, this transfer was accepted by the International Ornithologists' Union.
Region
East Asia
Typical Environment
Breeds in coastal eastern China and parts of the Yellow Sea region, using expansive saltmarshes, estuaries, and intertidal mudflats. During nonbreeding it disperses south along the coast to southern China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and northern Vietnam. It favors shallow, sheltered shorelines, lagoons, and creek mouths with extensive exposed mud at low tide. Roosting occurs on sandbars, saltpans, and undisturbed upper mudflats. Human-altered coastal wetlands such as saltpans and ricefields are also used, especially outside the breeding season.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 200 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Saunders's gull is a small, East Asian hooded gull of tidal flats and coastal saltmarshes, with a distinctive dark hood in breeding plumage and dark legs and bill. It was long treated in Larus or Chroicocephalus, but in 2023 the IOC recognized the monotypic genus Saundersilarus for this species. It is threatened by loss of intertidal habitat through coastal reclamation and disturbance. In winter it forms flocks on mudflats and estuaries across southeastern China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and northern Vietnam.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile, buoyant flight over mudflats
Social Behavior
Breeds colonially or in loose groups on low vegetation or bare ground in coastal saltmarshes, often near shallow creeks. Nests are ground scrapes lined with plant material; typical clutches are 2–3 eggs. Outside the breeding season it gathers in flocks to feed and roost, often mixing with other small gulls and terns.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Vocalizations are sharp, nasal calls and mewing notes typical of small gulls. Alarm and contact calls include repeated kreeh and kyik phrases, becoming more buzzy and insistent near the nest.
Plumage
Pale grey mantle and upperwings with white underparts; blackish wingtips with broad white areas and a clean white trailing edge. In breeding, a full dark hood contrasts with white neck and body; in nonbreeding the hood recedes to a dusky ear patch and smudged cap. Juveniles show browner upperparts with subtle mottling and a dark tail band.
Diet
Feeds mainly on small fish, shrimps, crabs, polychaete worms, and aquatic insects taken from shallow water and exposed mud. It also picks beetles and other terrestrial invertebrates from marsh edges and occasionally scavenges. Opportunistic foraging includes taking bycatch from fishing activity and gleaning in saltpans and ricefields.
Preferred Environment
Most foraging occurs on intertidal mudflats, creek margins, and shallow lagoons during low tide. It also uses saltpans, dredge spoil, and flooded fields when coastal flats are unavailable.
