Sabine's gull Sabine's gull The Sabine's gull ("Xema sabini"), also known as the fork-tailed gull or xeme, is a small gull. Its generic placement is disputed; some authors treat it as the sole species in the genus Xema as Xema sabini, while others retain it in the genus "Larus" as Larus sabini. The Sabine's gull breeds in colonies on coasts and tundra, laying two or three spotted olive-brown eggs in a ground nest lined with grass. It is very pelagic outside the breeding season. It takes a wide variety of mainly animal food, and will eat any suitable small prey. It also
Swallow-tailed gull the head moving side to side. This call is contagious, with other birds joining in without seeing the cause. A loud and rapid "kweek, kweek, kweek" is the greeting call between mates, made with the head and neck curved forward to the ground. The swallow-tailed gull breeds from about 5 years old, with pairs frequently staying together from year to year. Most breed throughout the year in mixed colonies on the cliffs of the Galápagos Islands sometimes on flat areas, and food for the young is hunted from the seas near to the nesting colonies. The nest is made on