CreatureData

Ross's gull

Rhodostethia rosea (W. MacGillivray, 1824)

LCLeast Concernbirds

Ross's gull (Rhodostethia rosea) is a bird in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. It is a small, carnivorous, aerial bird of coastal habitats, classed as an aquatic predator and partially migratory.

Ross's gull (Rhodostethia rosea)
Photo: Hiraku Senzaki · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the ross's gull

Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern (LC), a global assessment, and this is not a threatened category.

Weight
144 g – 187 gsrc for Weight
Length
29 cm – 31 cmsrc for Length
Wingspan
82 cm – 92 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
coastalsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
21 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the ross's gull?

ROSS'S GULL · LENGTH 31 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 31 cm, the recorded maximum length of the ross's gull is about 18% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the ross's gull live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the ross's gull as introduced in 1 country.

  1. Belgium

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

What is the ross's gull?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

Ross's gull (Rhodostethia rosea) is a small gull, the only species in its genus, although it has been suggested the genus should be merged with the closely related Hydrocoloeus, which otherwise only includes the little gull.

This bird is named after the British explorer James Clark Ross. Its breeding grounds were first discovered in 1905 by Sergei Aleksandrovich Buturlin near the village of Pokhodsk in northeastern Yakutia, while visiting the area as a judge. The genus name Rhodostethia is from Ancient Greek rhodon, "rose", and stethos, "breast". The specific rosea is Latin for "rose-coloured".

From the Wikipedia article “Ross's gull” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ross%27s_gull&oldid=1367610077), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the ross's gull endangered?

The ross's gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the ross's gull classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyLaridae
  6. genusRhodostethia
  7. SpeciesRhodostethia rosea (W. MacGillivray, 1824)

Synonyms Hydrocoloeus rosea, Larus roseum, Larus roseus, Larus rossii

Other names and names in other languages (52)
  • Red gullEnglish
  • Ross' gullEnglish
  • Rosy gullEnglish
  • Wedged-tailed gullEnglish
  • نورس أحمرArabic
  • نورس ورديArabic
  • Розова чайкаBulgarian
  • Gouelanig rozBreton
  • gavina rosadaCatalan
  • Ошалгы-якшар колшӹреMari
  • racek růžovýCzech
  • gwylan RossWelsh
  • Gwylanod RossWelsh
  • rosenmågeDanish
  • RosenmöweGerman
  • roza mevoEsperanto
  • Gaviota rosadaSpanish
  • Gaviota de RossSpanish
  • roosakajakasEstonian
  • ruusulokkiFinnish
  • BrandmásiFaroese
  • Mouette roséeFrench
  • mouette de RossFrench
  • Faoileán RossIrish
  • Faoileán rósachIrish
  • Foillan RossScottish Gaelic
  • שחף ורודHebrew
  • rózsás sirályHungarian
  • RósamáfurIcelandic
  • Gabbiano di RossItalian
  • ヒメクビワカモメJapanese
  • NaajannguaqKalaallisut
  • 쇠목테갈매기Korean
  • rožinis kirasLithuanian
  • sārtā kaijaLatvian
  • розев галебMacedonian
  • rosenmåkeNorwegian Bokmål
  • Ross’ meeuwDutch
  • Ross' MeeuwDutch
  • rosenmåseNorwegian Nynorsk
  • mewa różowaPolish
  • gaivota-rosadaPortuguese
  • розовая чайкаRussian
  • RuvsobáiskiNorthern Sami
  • čajka ružováSlovak
  • rožnati galebSlovenian
  • Ružičasti galebSerbian
  • rosenmåsSwedish
  • pembe martıTurkish
  • Мартин рожевийUkrainian
  • 楔尾鷗Chinese
  • 楔尾鸥Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the ross's gull

Other species in the same family Laridae.

CompareRoss's gull vs Black-headed gullRoss's gull vs European herring gullRoss's gull vs Common gullRoss's gull vs Common tern

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What is the scientific name of Ross's gull?

Ross's gull is Rhodostethia rosea, with the authority (W. MacGillivray, 1824). It is also called Red gull, Rosy gull, Ross' gull and Wedged-tailed gull.

How big is Ross's gull?

Adults typically weigh about 187 g and have a typical wingspan of about 87 cm. It belongs to the small size class.

What does Ross's gull eat?

Ross's gull is a carnivore and is classed as an aquatic predator.

Is Ross's gull endangered?

No. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern (LC) in the global assessment, which is not a threatened category.

How many eggs does Ross's gull lay?

A clutch has 3 eggs, with 1 clutch per year. Incubation lasts 21 days.

Does Ross's gull migrate?

It is partially migratory. Its habitat is coastal and its lifestyle is aerial.

Is the ross's gull an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the ross's gull as introduced in 1 country: Belgium, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Ross's gull (Rhodostethia rosea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rosss-gull

MLA

“Ross's gull (Rhodostethia rosea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rosss-gull.

BibTeX
@misc{rosss_gull_2026,
  title = {Ross's gull (Rhodostethia rosea)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rosss-gull},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}