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Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

50 Bird Species

Forster's Tern

Alternate Adult has gray back and wings with pale primaries, white underparts, deeply forked tail longer than folded wings, black cap and nape, orange bill with black tip, and orange legs. Basic Adult has white underparts, black bill, dark wingtips, and white head with black mask around eye. Sexes ar more...

Length: 33 cm Wingspan: 79 cm

Franklin's Gull

Alternate Adult is crisply plumaged, with white underparts, gray wings and back, black wingtips with white spots at rest, black legs, clean black head, broken white eye ring, and deep red bill with black spot at tip. Underparts are sometimes tinted pink. In flight, black wingtips are surrounded by wh more...

Length: 37 cm Wingspan: 91 cm

Glaucous Gull

A large, bulky, pale, four-year gull of northern latitudes; standing or sitting birds show white wingtips at all ages. Alternate Adult is entirely white with pale gray mantle; broad white trailing edge to the wing that widens on the mostly white primaries, eye is yellow, legs are pink, and bill is ye more...

Length: 69 cm Wingspan: 152 cm

Glaucous-winged Gull

A large, pink-legged four-year gull of the Pacific Coast. Alternate Adult has medium gray mantle, slightly darker gray wingtips with white subterminal spots and very limited white tips on the outer primaries, white body, dark eye, pink legs, and yellow bill with red spot at the tip. Basic Adult has f more...

Length: 66 cm Wingspan: 147 cm

Gray-hooded Gull

Medium-sized, three-year gull with long bill and legs. Adult: Distinctive pale-gray hood. Pale eye. Red bill. White neck, underparts and tail. Pale gray back and wings. Black wingtips with small white mirrors. Red legs. In flight, upper wing has distinctive white wedge on leading edge to outer wing. more...

Length: 41 cm Wingspan: 109 cm

Great Black-backed Gull

A very large, bulky, blocky-headed, four-year gull of the Atlantic. Alternate Adult has dark slate-gray (near black) mantle that is darker than any other regular North American gull, black wingtips with small white spots, white head and underparts, usually pale eye, pink legs, and yellow bill with re more...

Length: 76 cm Wingspan: 165 cm

Gull-billed Tern

A bulky, chunky tern of Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Alternate Adult has silvery-gray wings, short white tail, white underparts, long black legs, black cap and nape, and thick, blunt, black bill. Basic Adult has white head with small black patch behind eye. Juvenile has very faint patterning on back and more...

Length: 36 cm Wingspan: 86 cm

Heermann's Gull

A medium-sized, dark, red-billed, three-year gull of the Pacific. Alternate Adult is unmistakable, crisp sooty-gray overall, with clean gray underparts and neck, dark gray wings and back, black legs, white head, and thin red bill. In flight, the black primaries and secondaries contrast with the gray more...

Length: 48 cm Wingspan: 130 cm

Herring Gull

A large, pink-legged, four-year gull. Alternate Adult has pale pearly gray mantle, black wingtips, white underparts and head, pale yellow eye, pink legs, and a yellow bill with red spot at the tip. Shows similar amount of black on both upper and undersides of wingtips. Basic Adult has dark brown stre more...

Length: 64 cm Wingspan: 147 cm

Iceland Gull

The wing tip pattern on this species is extremely variable, with some individuals approaching Thayer's Gull. Some consider the two to be the same species. Two subspecies of Iceland Gull are currently recognized, Iceland Gull and Kumlien's Gull, the latter of which is most likely to be found in the U. more...

Length: 51 cm Wingspan: 130 cm

Ivory Gull

This small gull of the high Arctic is the only species of gull that is entirely white. The legs are very short and black, and the wing tips extend well beyond the tail. Adult: Plumage is entirely white. The bill is blue-gray at the base, yellow to orange at the tip. The eye is dark, with a thin red e more...

Length: 43 cm Wingspan: 91 cm

Kelp Gull

Adult: Blackish gray mantle shows little contrast with black primaries. The primaries show small black tips and a small mirror on the outermost primary (P10, and sometimes on P9). The thick bill is yellow with an orange-red gonydeal spot. The legs range from greenish to yellow. The eyes can be pale o more...

Length: 53 cm Wingspan: 135 cm

Large-billed Tern

This striking medium-sized tern has a disproportionately long, thick pointed bill that is entirely yellow and a wing pattern that resembles that of a Sabine's Gull. Alternate Adult: Entirely white below, narrow white forehead separates solid black crown from the bill. Black crown dips well below the more...

Length: 37 cm Wingspan: 94 cm

Laughing Gull

This is the largest and most common hooded gull of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. In all plumages, note the long wing projection with all-dark primaries, the long slightly drooping bill, and narrow white crescents above and below the eyes. Alternate Adult: Mantle is dark gray with long black wing tips more...

Length: 38 cm Wingspan: 97 cm

Least Tern

North America's smallest tern is tiny when compared to other mostly white terns. Alternate Adult: Combines a diagnostic all-yellow bill with black cap and crisply marked white forehead. Back and upper wings are silvery gray and the underparts and tail are entirely white. In flight the black outer pri more...

Length: 23 cm Wingspan: 51 cm

Lesser Black-backed Gull

This European species is becoming increasingly common in North America in winter. In all plumages, note the rounded head, slender bill, and very long wings extending well beyond the tail. Alternate Adult: The mantle is slate gray, usually lighter than Great Black-backed Gull, though some birds from W more...

Length: 50 cm Wingspan: 137 cm

Non-vegetated Areas

0 species

Salt Water

47 species

Aleutian Tern

Onychoprion aleuticus

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Beaches

Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaea

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers, Open Country and Grasslands

Belcher's Gull

Larus belcheri

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows

Black Noddy

Anous minutus

Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches

Black Skimmer

Rynchops niger

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Saltmarshes

Black Tern

Chlidonias niger

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Black-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Open Country and Grasslands

Black-legged Kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Black-tailed Gull

Larus crassirostris

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Saltmarshes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers, Boreal Forest

Bridled Tern

Onychoprion anaethetus

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Coastal Dunes

Brown Noddy

Anous stolidus

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs

California Gull

Larus californicus

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Caspian Tern

Hydroprogne caspia

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Common Tern

Sterna hirundo

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Elegant Tern

Thalasseus elegans

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows

Forster's Tern

Sterna forsteri

Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

Estuaries and Bays, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Open Country and Grasslands

Glaucous Gull

Larus hyperboreus

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Open Country and Grasslands

Glaucous-winged Gull

Larus glaucescens

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Lakes Resevoirs

Gray-hooded Gull

Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes

Great Black-backed Gull

Larus marinus

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Coastal Dunes, Saltmarshes, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica

Estuaries and Bays, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Urban Landscapes, Fresh Water Marshes

Heermann's Gull

Larus heermanni

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores

Herring Gull

Larus argentatus

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Iceland Gull

Larus glaucoides

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Ivory Gull

Pagophila eburnea

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches

Kelp Gull

Larus dominicanus

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Lakes Resevoirs

Laughing Gull

Leucophaeus atricilla

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Least Tern

Sternula antillarum

Estuaries and Bays, Beaches, Fresh Water Marshes, Ponds and Rivers

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Larus fuscus

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Little Gull

Hydrocoloeus minutus

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Mew Gull

Larus canus

Estuaries and Bays, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Urban Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Red-legged Kittiwake

Rissa brevirostris

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Roseate Tern

Sterna dougallii

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows

Ross's Gull

Rhodostethia rosea

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Royal Tern

Thalasseus maximus

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches

Sabine's Gull

Xema sabini

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Sandwich Tern

Thalasseus sandvicensis

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Saltmarshes

Slaty-backed Gull

Larus schistisagus

Inshore Waters, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Lakes Resevoirs

Sooty Tern

Onychoprion fuscatus

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters

Swallow-tailed Gull

Creagrus furcatus

Open Ocean

Thayer's Gull

Larus thayeri

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Western Gull

Larus occidentalis

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Ponds and Rivers

Yellow-footed Gull

Larus livens

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows

Yellow-legged Gull

Larus michahellis

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches

Human-altered Areas

21 species

Black-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Black-legged Kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Black-tailed Gull

Larus crassirostris

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Saltmarshes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers, Boreal Forest

California Gull

Larus californicus

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

Estuaries and Bays, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Open Country and Grasslands

Glaucous Gull

Larus hyperboreus

Glaucous-winged Gull

Larus glaucescens

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Lakes Resevoirs

Great Black-backed Gull

Larus marinus

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Coastal Dunes, Saltmarshes, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica

Estuaries and Bays, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Urban Landscapes, Fresh Water Marshes

Herring Gull

Larus argentatus

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Iceland Gull

Larus glaucoides

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Larus fuscus

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Little Gull

Hydrocoloeus minutus

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Mew Gull

Larus canus

Estuaries and Bays, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Urban Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Ross's Gull

Rhodostethia rosea

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Sabine's Gull

Xema sabini

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Slaty-backed Gull

Larus schistisagus

Inshore Waters, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Lakes Resevoirs

Thayer's Gull

Larus thayeri

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Western Gull

Larus occidentalis

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Ponds and Rivers

Fresh Water

31 species

Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaea

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers, Open Country and Grasslands

Black Tern

Chlidonias niger

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Black-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Black-legged Kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Saltmarshes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers, Boreal Forest

California Gull

Larus californicus

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Caspian Tern

Hydroprogne caspia

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Common Tern

Sterna hirundo

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Forster's Tern

Sterna forsteri

Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

Estuaries and Bays, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Open Country and Grasslands

Glaucous Gull

Larus hyperboreus

Glaucous-winged Gull

Larus glaucescens

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Lakes Resevoirs

Great Black-backed Gull

Larus marinus

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Coastal Dunes, Saltmarshes, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica

Estuaries and Bays, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Urban Landscapes, Fresh Water Marshes

Herring Gull

Larus argentatus

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Iceland Gull

Larus glaucoides

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Kelp Gull

Larus dominicanus

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Lakes Resevoirs

Large-billed Tern

Phaetusa simplex

Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Laughing Gull

Leucophaeus atricilla

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Least Tern

Sternula antillarum

Estuaries and Bays, Beaches, Fresh Water Marshes, Ponds and Rivers

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Larus fuscus

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Little Gull

Hydrocoloeus minutus

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Mew Gull

Larus canus

Estuaries and Bays, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Urban Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Ross's Gull

Rhodostethia rosea

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Sabine's Gull

Xema sabini

Open Ocean, Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs

Slaty-backed Gull

Larus schistisagus

Inshore Waters, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Lakes Resevoirs

Thayer's Gull

Larus thayeri

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Lakes Resevoirs

Western Gull

Larus occidentalis

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Ponds and Rivers

Whiskered Tern

Chlidonias hybrida

Fresh Water Marshes

White-winged Tern

Chlidonias leucopterus

Fresh Water Marshes

Grassland and Scrubland

4 species

Forest and Woodlands

1 species

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Saltmarshes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Dams, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers, Boreal Forest