# Pallas's gull (*Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/pallass-gull  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

Pallas's gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus), also called the Great black-headed gull, is a bird in the family Laridae and the order Charadriiformes. It falls in the medium size class, with an adult body mass of 1.424 kg (reported from 1.189 to 1.599 kg) and a wingspan of 1.61 m (reported from 1.5 to 1.72 m). Pallas's gull is a migratory omnivore of coastal habitats with a generalist lifestyle, and its geographic range covers 739,500 km². It lays 1 clutch of 2 eggs per year, incubated for 26 days, reaches sexual maturity at 3 years and has a lifespan of 9 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 1.19 kg – 1.6 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.5 m – 1.72 m |
| Lifespan | 9 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | coastal |
| Egg incubation | 26 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2 |
| Age at maturity | 2.98 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Generalist |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Laridae
- genus: Ichthyaetus
- species: *Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus* (Pallas, 1773)

Synonyms: *Chroicocephalus kittlitzii*, *Larus ichthyaetus*, *Larus ichthyaëtus minor*, *Larus icthyaetus*, *Larus kroicocephalus*, *Misamichus pallasii*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is Pallas's gull?

Pallas's gull is a bird in the family Laridae and the order Charadriiformes. It is also called the Great black-headed gull.

### How big is Pallas's gull?

Pallas's gull has an adult body mass of 1.424 kg and a wingspan of 1.61 m. Reported wingspans run from 1.5 to 1.72 m.

### What does Pallas's gull eat?

Pallas's gull is an omnivore with a generalist lifestyle.

### What habitat does Pallas's gull use?

Pallas's gull lives in coastal habitats, and its geographic range covers 739,500 km².

### Does Pallas's gull migrate?

Yes, Pallas's gull is migratory.

### How many eggs does Pallas's gull lay?

Pallas's gull lays 2 eggs per clutch and 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 26 days.

### How long does Pallas's gull live?

Pallas's gull has a lifespan of 9 years and reaches sexual maturity at 3 years.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Pallas's gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pallass-gull