# Ross's gull (*Rhodostethia rosea*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/rosss-gull  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

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

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 144 g – 187 g |
| Length | 29 cm – 31 cm |
| Wingspan | 82 cm – 92 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | coastal |
| Egg incubation | 21 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3 |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Aerial |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Introduced range

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 1 country. Introduced: Belgium. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Laridae
- genus: Rhodostethia
- species: *Rhodostethia rosea* (W. MacGillivray, 1824)

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

## Common questions

### 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

- [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).
- [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group.
- [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: Ross's gull (Rhodostethia rosea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rosss-gull