Sabine's gull steals eggs from nesting colonies of Arctic terns. The Sabine's gull is a small gull, in length and weighing . The wings are long, thin and pointed with a span of between . The bill, which is black with a yellow tip, is around long. This species is easy to identify through its striking wing pattern. The adult has a pale grey back and wing coverts, black primary flight feathers and white secondaries. The white tail is forked. The male's hood darkens during breeding season. Young birds have a similar tricoloured wing pattern, but the grey is replaced by brown,
Black-tailed gull it has been rebuilt several times since) at which the black-tailed gull, is seen as a messenger of the goddess of the fishery. For over 700 years, the species has enjoyed reverence, feeding and protection from the local population. As a result, every summer, over 40,000 black-tailed gulls nest and raise their young in the grounds of the shrine and the surrounding island, which has been designated a National Natural Monument by the government of Japan. The gulls are very tame and are a popular local tourist attraction. Around 5,000 birds also nest at Fumi-shima in Shimane Prefecture near Izumo