Editing Ross's gull

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Rhodostethia rosea, Shiretoko, Japan.jpg
| image_caption = Adult in winter plumage, Shiretoko, Japan
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2020 |title=''Rhodostethia rosea'' |volume=2020 |page=e.T22694476A168884321 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22694476A168884321.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Rhodostethia
| parent_authority = [[William MacGillivray|MacGillivray]], 1842
| species = rosea
| authority = ([[William MacGillivray|MacGillivray]], 1824) <br />[[Melville Peninsula]], [[Canada]]
| synonyms = ''Hydrocoloeus roseus''
| range_map = Rhodostethia rosea map.svg
}}

'''Ross's gull''' ('''''Rhodostethia rosea''''') is a small [[gull]], the [[monotypic|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 [[Sakha Republic|Yakutia]], while visiting the area as a judge.<ref>E. Potapov. 1990. Birds and brave man in the Arctic (Explorers of Polar deserts, Russo-Japanize war and ever mysterious Ross's Gull). – Birds International, v.2 N°3, p. 72–83. [http://potapov-nature.com/cvs/pubs/Ross%27s%20Gull%20by%20E.%20Potapov%201990.pdf]</ref> The genus name ''Rhodostethia'' is from [[Ancient Greek]] ''rhodon'', "rose", and ''stethos'', "breast". The specific ''rosea'' is [[Latin]] for "rose-coloured".<ref name=job>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher= Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages= 335, 337}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea).jpg|thumb|left|alt=A Ross's gull|An adult in non-breeding plumage.]]
This small bird is similar in size and some [[plumage]] characteristics to the [[little gull]]. It is slightly larger and longer winged than the little gull, and has more pointed wings and a wedge-shaped tail. Its legs are red. Summer adults are pale grey above and white below, with a pink flush to the body feathering, and a neat black neck ring. In winter, the neck collar is lost, and a small dark crescent develops behind the eye; the pink colour, which is diet-related, is lost in some but not all individuals.<ref name=Oiseaux>{{cite web |url=http://www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/mouette.de.ross.html |title=''Rhodostethia rosea'': Ross's Gull |language=fr |publisher=Oiseaux.net |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref>

Young birds resemble winter adults, but have a dark "W" pattern on the wings in flight, like young little gulls, and lack the pink tones. The juveniles take two years to attain full adult plumage.

Ross's gull measurements:<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ross's Gull Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rosss_Gull/id|access-date=2020-09-25|website=www.allaboutbirds.org|language=en}}</ref>

* '''Length''': {{convert|29|–|31|cm|in|abbr=on}}
* '''Weight''': {{convert|140|–|250|g|oz|abbr=on}}
* '''Wingspan''': {{convert|90|–|100|cm|in|abbr=on}}

==Distribution and habitat==
Ross's gull breeds in the high [[Arctic]] of northernmost [[North America]], and northeast [[Siberia]]. It [[bird migration|migrates]] only short distances south in autumn, most of the population wintering in northern latitudes at the edge of the [[pack ice]] in the northern Bering Sea and in the Sea of Okhotsk, although some birds reach more temperate areas, such as north west [[Europe]]; in February 2016 singles were sighted in [[Cornwall]] and [[Ireland]] according to the BTOs 'BirdTrack', in December 2021 two were seen in [[Belgium]], one in [[Nieuwpoort, Belgium|Nieuwpoort]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Zeldzame Ross' meeuw uit Siberië lokt honderden natuurfotografen naar Nieuwpoort|url=https://vrtnws.be/p.JNkVNExPo|access-date=2022-01-06|website=www.vrt.be|date=21 December 2021 |language=nl}}</ref> and one in [[Zeebrugge]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Natuurgids Billy kwam speciaal voor Ross' meeuw terug uit vakantie: "Een hels verhaal, maar ik heb hem gezien"|date=22 December 2021 |url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2021/12/22/man-keert-terug-voor-ross-meeuw/}}</ref> In North America, a Ross's gull has been spotted as far south as [[Salton Sea]] in [[California]], although sightings this far south are extremely rare. The summer breeding grounds are tundra with sedges, grass tussocks, dwarf willows, bushes, lichens and pools.<ref name=Oiseaux/>

==Biology==
The Ross's gull breeds in small [[Colony (biology)|colonies]] on tundras and [[swamp]]y Arctic estuaries, often nesting with other seabirds such as [[Arctic tern]]s. It lays two to three [[bird egg|eggs]] in a [[bird nest|nest]] on the ground lined with seaweed, grass or moss, often on an island in a little lake. The eggs are olive green with small reddish-brown spots. Incubation takes about three weeks and the chicks fledge in another three weeks. Not all pairs successfully rear their young as predators and bad weather often take their toll.<ref name=Oiseaux/>

This bird will eat any suitable small [[prey]] such as small fish and crustaceans, and during the winter often feeds on mudflats like a [[wader]]. During the breeding season it is largely [[Insectivore|insectivorous]], feeding on beetles and flies.<ref name=Oiseaux/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
Densley, Michael "In search of Ross's Gull" Peregrine books. 1999.

==External links==
* E. Potapov. 1990. [http://potapov-nature.com/cvs/pubs/Ross%27s%20Gull%20by%20E.%20Potapov%201990.pdf Birds and brave men in the Arctic north] ''Birds International'' '''2'''(3) 72–83.

{{Gulls}}
{{Charadriiformes|L.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q747817}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gulls|Ross's gull]]
[[Category:Birds of the Arctic]]
[[Category:Birds of Canada]]
[[Category:Birds of Greenland]]
[[Category:Birds of North Asia]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1824|Ross's gull]]
[[Category:Taxa named by William MacGillivray]]