Scientific name: Rhodostethia rosea (MacGillivray, 1824)
Bird group: Gulls and Terns
Field characters. 29-31 cm. Small gull with long wings, round head, short bill, and wedge-shaped tail. Adults have pink underside, broad white trailing edge to wings and grey underwing. Has diagnostic narrow black necklace in summer. In winter, pale grey on rear head and shoulders; dark oblong spot on ear-coverts. Juvenile resembles juvenile Little Gull but with subterminal white wedge on outer primaries and different tail shape.
Voice. Usually silent, but vagrants occasionally utter "kwa"; in alarm "kik-kik-kik-kik".
Distribution. Breeds in NE Siberia, and occasionally Greenland, N Canada, perhaps Spitsbergen. Winters in arctic/subarctic waters.
Habitat. Arctic tundra to boreal taiga zone.
Food. Surface dwelling invertebrates, small fish; in breeding area insects.