Pallas's gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus), also known as the great black-headed gull, is named after Prussian Peter Simon Pallas – a zoologist who explored Russia, Siberia, the Ural, Caspian Sea, Altai Mountains. He first described the species in 1773. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. Ichthyaetus is from ikhthus, "fish", and aetos, "eagle" – it feeds on fish, including dead fish. Amongst the largest gulls in the world, only the Great Black-backed Gull and the Glaucous Gull are larger. Pallas's Gull is migratory, spending the winter around the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Peninsula, and India. It breeds in southern Russia and Mongolia.
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