A relict gull has been spotted in Tainan for the first time, in only the fifth recorded sighting of the vulnerable Central Asian species in Taiwan, the Wild Bird Society of Tainan said.
Local birdwatcher Lin Kun-hui (林坤慧) spotted the gull on Wednesday after noticing it stood out among other birds at a salt pan in Tainan’s Jiangjun District (將軍). The species was later confirmed through photographs, the society said.
Relict gulls typically inhabit salt lakes in Central Asia, making their appearance in Taiwan an unusual case of vagrancy far outside their normal range, the society said.
Photo courtesy of Lin Kun-hui
The species is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
The most recent previous sighting in Taiwan occurred in Changhua County last year.
As the gull is not a regular migrant to Taiwan, the society said it might be the same bird spotted last year, possibly moving south to escape cold surges.
Earlier sightings were recorded in Kinmen County in 2013, Yilan County in 2016 and Pingtung County in 2024, it said.
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