The Sabine’s gull (Xema sabini) is a small gull that breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. During the breeding season, it is found along coastal tundra from Alaska to Greenland and across Arctic Canada and Russia. In the nonbreeding season, it migrates long distances and can be found across oceans worldwide.
Breeding Range
The Sabine’s gull breeds in a circumpolar distribution in Arctic regions. Its breeding range includes:
- Alaska – Breeds along the northern and western coasts
- Canada – Breeds in Arctic islands and along the mainland coast from Yukon to Nunavut
- Greenland – Breeds along the coastline
- Russia – Breeds along the coasts of northern Siberia east to Wrangel Island
Within these regions, the Sabine’s gull nests in coastal tundra habitat. It prefers lowland areas near ponds, lakes, or lagoons. The tundra environment provides open terrain with grasses and low shrubs for nesting and access to freshwater habitat for foraging.
Wintering Range
During the nonbreeding season, the Sabine’s gull migrates long distances to wintering areas far from its Arctic breeding grounds. Its winter range spans extensive areas across the world’s oceans in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some key wintering regions include:
- North Atlantic Ocean – Ranges across the Atlantic from the east coast of North America to the west coast of Europe and Africa
- North Pacific Ocean – Ranges across the Pacific from Japan to the west coast of North America
- South Atlantic Ocean – Ranges off the coast of southern Brazil and Argentina
- South Pacific and Indian Oceans – Ranges off the coasts of Peru, Chile, Australia, and southern Africa
On the wintering grounds, the Sabine’s gull occupies pelagic habitats far from land. It occurs mainly in offshore and shelf waters, where it feeds on fish, squid, crustaceans and other marine prey.
Migration
The Sabine’s gull undertakes long-distance migrations between its Arctic breeding grounds and wintering areas at sea. Its migratory movements are complex and can cover thousands of miles between continents. Some key aspects of Sabine’s gull migration include:
- Fall migration from late August to October
- Spring migration from April to mid-May
- Migrates across oceans, following prevailing winds and currents
- Can migrate trans-equatorially between hemispheres
- Young birds may stay at sea for 2-3 years before migrating north to breed
Sabine’s gulls exhibit a strong migratory connectivity, meaning birds from specific breeding sites migrate to specific wintering areas. However, there can be a lot of mixing of populations throughout their migratory range and on the wintering grounds.
Range Maps and Distribution
The breeding and wintering ranges of the Sabine’s gull can be visualized on distribution maps:
| Breeding Distribution | Wintering Distribution |
|---|---|
These maps show how the Sabine’s gull migrates from coastal Arctic areas in the summer to pelagic regions across the world’s oceans in winter. The species has an exceptionally broad wintering range spanning both hemispheres and multiple oceans.
Habitat
The Sabine’s gull uses very different habitats during its breeding and nonbreeding life cycle phases:
Breeding Habitat
- Coastal tundra
- Lowland areas near ponds, lakes and lagoons
- Open terrain with grasses, mosses and scattered low shrubs
- Sandy areas for nest scrapes
Nonbreeding Habitat
- Pelagic – open waters of oceans and seas
- Continental shelf waters and offshore areas
- Upwelling zones rich in marine prey
- Coastal regions when migrating
This species thrives in starkly contrasting environments during its annual cycle. It nests on barren Arctic tundra then migrates huge distances to spend the winter foraging at sea, rarely even sighting land outside the breeding season.
Conservation Status
The Sabine’s gull has a large global population estimated at 100,000 to 1,000,000 mature adults. Its numbers appear to be stable or increasing slightly in most regions. The IUCN Red List categorizes this species as Least Concern.
Some specific factors relevant to the Sabine’s gull’s conservation status include:
- No major threats to breeding habitat in the remote Arctic
- May benefit from climate change opening up new nesting areas
- Not substantially impacted by offshore human activities
- No long-term population declines detected
With its extremely broad range and large population, the Sabine’s gull is not considered globally threatened. Protection of its Arctic breeding habitat will be important for conservation of this high latitude species.
Conclusion
In summary, key points about the range and distribution of the Sabine’s gull include:
- Breeds in coastal Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Siberia
- Winters across the world’s oceans from North and South America to southern Africa and Australia
- Undertakes long transoceanic migrations spanning thousands of miles
- Uses coastal tundra habitat when breeding and pelagic marine habitats when wintering
- Has a large global population and is not considered threatened
The Sabine’s gull exemplifies the extreme long-distance migrations and dramatic habitat shifts undertaken by Arctic seabirds. Protection of its remote northern breeding grounds will be key to conservation of its global population.
