20 Types of Gulls (and Terns) Found in the United States!

What kinds of gulls can you find in the United States?

common gulls in the united states

If you’re like me, you’ll be surprised to find out that there is no specific bird called a “seagull!Instead, gulls are a diverse family of birds with different habitats, ranges, and color patterns.

I’ve also included terns in the list below, a closely related subgroup of gulls. In general, gulls have hooked beaks while terns’ beaks are straight, and terns have webbed feet while gulls don’t.

Please be aware that today I’m ONLY listing and focusing on the plumage of ADULT gulls. Baby and young gulls’ can look so different that it would be confusing to describe all the variations here. But if you want to dive even deeper into gull identification, check out this field guide, which has photo examples of gulls with different plumage based on their age:

View on Amazon

20 COMMON Gulls and Terns In the United States!


#1. Lesser Black-backed Gull

  • Larus fuscus

species of gulls in the united states

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults measure 20.5 to 25.2 inches in length and have a 53.2 to 59.1-inch wingspan.
  • Breeding adult plumage is white below, slate gray above, white head, black wingtips, and in non-breeding plumage, the head and neck are typically spotted brown.
  • They have yellow eyes, bright yellow legs, and a yellow bill with a red spot on the lower mandible.

Although they’re native to Europe, Lesser Black-backed Gulls populations are increasing worldwide. They occupy rocky islands, cliffs, and salt marshes. In addition, you can spot these gulls in aquatic habitats such as bays, lakes, rivers, and the open ocean during the winter and migration season.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls adjust their hunting style depending on the prey. They may swoop down to the water’s surface in flight to catch fish, mollusks, insects, crustaceans, marine worms, smaller birds, and eggs, or forage on land for rodents, berries, seaweed, and seed. They’re scavengers and are often seen around fishing boats and landfills. They will even steal food from other birds.

In spring, Lesser Black-backed Gulls return to breeding grounds soon after the ice and snow have melted. You’re likely to see monogamous breeding pairs preening each other’s head and neck feathers. In North America, Lesser Black-backed Gulls sometimes pair with Herring Gulls due to a lack of available mates.

Both the males and females incubate the eggs and aggressively defend their nest. Their protective behavior continues when their chicks hatch. Males will strike imposing postures and call loudly to warn away other males. They may also get into fights with any bird (or human!) that gets too close. Watch below!

YouTube video

#2. Herring Gull

  • Larus argentatus

types of gulls in the united states

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 22.1 to 26.0 inches in length and have a 53.9 to 57.5-inch wingspan.
  • Breeding adults have light gray backs, white heads, white undersides, and black wingtips and may have dusky marks on their heads during the winter.
  • They have yellow eyes, dull pink legs, hefty bills, and barrel chests.

Herring Gulls are the familiar, quintessential “sea-gull” in the United States. They occupy farmland, coasts, bays, beaches, lakes, piers, and landfills. They’re most abundant on the coast and surrounding large lakes and river systems.

If you spend time at the beach, you’ve probably noticed Herring Gulls waiting for you to drop your snack! In addition to popcorn and chips from humans, they consume fish, crustaceans, mollusks, sea urchins, marine worms, smaller birds, eggs, carrion, and insects.

Herring Gulls will stop at nothing to get a meal! They’ve been observed preying on fish driven to the surface by feeding whales. They also will take hard-shelled items such as crabs and mollusks high into the air and drop them onto rocks to break them open.

Individuals have even been observed “fishing.” One individual was recorded dropping pieces of bread into a pond and catching the goldfish that came up to feed. It didn’t eat any bread itself, suggesting the gull was using the bread as a lure!

The population of Herring Gulls declined steeply during the 19th century because of over-hunting. While their range and population recovered during the 20th century, overfishing, oil spills, and pesticide contamination have reduced some populations.


#3. Ring-Billed Gull

  • Larus delawarensis

kinds of gulls in the united states

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 16.9 to 21.3 inches in length and have a wingspan of 41.3 and 46.1 inches.
  • Breeding adults are clean gray above with a white head, white body, white tail, and black wingtips spotted with white.
  • They have yellow legs, eyes, and bill with a black band.

Look for Ring-Billed Gulls in the United States near aquatic habitats.

These are the gulls you’re most likely to see in inland locations. Look for them on coasts, piers, large bodies of water, and landfills, since they prefer to nest near freshwater sources. These gulls are adapted to human-disturbed areas and a common around cities, farmlands, docks, and even in parking lots.

Ring-billed Gulls are known for dropping and then re-catching prey. This “game” is a way of honing their hunting skills!

Interestingly, Ring-billed Gulls use a sort of built-in compass to navigate. Scientists found that chicks as young as two days old showed a preference for magnetic bearings that would lead them to their winter habitat. They typically return to their nesting location to breed each year, often within a few meters of old nest sites.

YouTube video

#4. Great Black-backed Gull

  • Larus marinus

 gulls in the united states

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 27.9 to 31.1 inches in length and have a 57.5 to 63-inch wingspan.
  • Breeding adults are white with slate-black upper wings and backs.
  • They have dull pink legs, darkish eyes, and a large yellow bill with a red spot near the tip.

Great Black-backed Gulls are the largest gulls in the United States!

They’re mainly found on the coast but sometimes live on large lakes and estuaries. They’re more likely to move inland to large lakes and river systems in the winter. They can also be spotted resting in parking lots, fields, runways, and piers.

These gulls consume various prey. They will feed on fish, marine invertebrates, and smaller birds and eggs along shorelines. They’re known to steal food from other birds and animals, including sharks. That’s a dangerous way to score dinner!

Great Black-backed Gulls are still common in their range, even though overhunting threatened their population in the 19th century. Incredibly, the oldest recorded individual living in the wild was over 26 years old.


#5. Western Gull

  • Larus occidentalis

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults measure 22.1 to 26 inches in length and have a 47.2 to 56.7-inch wingspan.
  • Breeding adults are white with black or dark gray backs, upper wings, and primary feathers.
  • They have a yellow bill with a red mark near the tip, pale pink legs, and eyes that are olive-yellow to dark brown.

Western Gulls in the United States live in coastal areas and rarely travel more than a few miles inland. Look for them in coastal waters, estuaries, and at sea, particularly between the shore and nesting islands. They will also visit landfills and open flat areas like parking lots near the shore.

In addition to the fish and shellfish many gulls eat, Western Gulls also forage at sea lion rookeries, feeding on dead pups and afterbirth. In offshore waters, they often follow groups of marine mammals such as dolphins, seals, and sea lions to locate prey sources.

Western Gulls mate for life and work together to build their nests. Both parents incubate the eggs. In very hot weather, the parents fly to water, soak their belly feathers, and then return to the nest to cool the eggs!

The oldest Western Gull recorded in the wild was 33 years and 11 months old. Even though they’re common within their range, they are of some concern because they’re susceptible to climate change, oil spills, and habitat degradation.


#6. California Gull

  • Larus californicus

gulls in the united states

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults are 18.5 to 21.3 inches in length and have a wingspan of about 51.2 inches.
  • Breeding adults have a medium gray back and white head and underside.
  • They have dark eyes, yellow legs, and a yellow bill with a small black ring and a red spot on the lower mandible that is brighter in breeding individuals.

California Gulls can be found in various habitats in the United States. For example, you might spot them on coasts, farms, lakes, or urban centers.

They frequently forage at farms and in plowed fields and often follow farming equipment that stirs up insects. During winter, when farming activity slows, they spend more time at coastal locations and breeding islands.

These gulls are opportunistic omnivores, meaning they’ll eat nearly anything they can fit in their mouth!

They feed on fish, small mammals, human refuse, carrion, grasshoppers, mayflies, brine shrimp, earthworms, cherries, grain, bird eggs, and more. Their favorite way to catch a meal is to run through large groups of alkali flies with their bills open, catching them along the way.

YouTube video

#7. Laughing Gull

  • Leucophaeus atricilla

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 15.3 to 18.1 inches in length and have a 36.2 to 47.2-inch wingspan.
  • Adults are medium gray above and white below with reddish-black legs.
  • Summer adults have a crisp black hood, white arcs around the eyes, and reddish bills, and in winter, the hood becomes a blurry gray mask on a white head.

Laughing Gulls in the United States are typically spotted in coastal areas like beaches, salt marshes, and mangroves.

Like many other gulls, Laughing Gulls are adept at foraging while walking, wading, swimming, or flying. Their food sources include crustaceans, insects, squid, human refuse, berries, fish, earthworms, snails, and the eggs of horseshoe crabs.

These gulls steal food from Brown Pelicans by landing on their heads and taking fish from their bill pouch. I’m sure the Brown Pelicans aren’t laughing when that happens!

YouTube video

 

They form massive colonies of up to 25,000 pairs during the breeding season. The colonies include terns, larger gulls, Black Skimmers, and American Oyster Catchers. Laughing Gulls are monogamous, and pairs typically stay together for multiple seasons.


#8. Glaucous-winged Gull

  • Larus glaucescens

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 19.7 to 23.2 inches in length and have a 47.2 to 56.3-inch wingspan.
  • Breeding adults are pearly gray above, including the wingtips, and white below.
  • They have a yellow bill and pinkish legs.

Glaucous-winged Gulls live on estuaries, bays, rivers, coves, beaches, and rocky shorelines. They may also visit ponds and landfills near the coast. These Gulls primarily nest on low, flat offshore islands, and rooftops.

Like other gulls in the United States, they have a varied diet, including shellfish, human refuse, and carrion.

The chicks hatch covered in down and may leave the nest in as little as two days but remain in the immediate vicinity. Both parents work to feed the young. They mature and breed at about four years old. The oldest Glaucous-winged Gull recorded in the wild was over 23 years old.


#9. Heermann’s Gull

  • Larus heermanni

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 18.1 to 20.9 inches in length and have a wingspan between 40.9 and 45.3 inches.
  • Breeding adults are dark gray above, gray below, and have a white head.
  • They have black legs and a red bill with a black tip.

Unlike other coastal gulls in the United States, Heermann’s Gulls rarely travel inland to visit ponds and landfills. However, they may travel far offshore, out of sight of land.

Interestingly, nearly all Heermann’s Gulls nest on a rocky, volcanic island called Isla Rasa, Mexico, off the coast of California. The island has very little vegetation. A few pairs nest in California on coastal islands and rooftops.

Heermann’s gulls are notorious for stealing food from other birds. They will even form small groups and mob Brown Pelicans with pouches full of fish, forcing them to drop some of their prey. They also steal fish from smaller gulls, terns, and boobies.

These unique gulls have a “backward” migration. They breed in the south and move north for the non-breeding season.

The stability and abundance of Heermann’s Gull populations aren’t well known. However, these gulls are listed on the Partners in Flight Yellow Watch List due to their restricted range. Unfortunately, Heermann’s Gulls face threats from climate change and over-harvesting of anchovies and sardines (one of their primary food sources).


#10. Franklin’s Gull

  • Leucophaeus pipixcan

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 12.6 to 14.2 inches in length and have a 33.5 to 37.4-inch wingspan.
  • Breeding adults have black heads with white crests above and below the eye, dark gray upperparts, white underparts, and a black wingtip separated from the gray upper wing by a white crescent.
  • The legs and bill are reddish.

Franklin’s Gulls are often spotted inland in agricultural fields, prairies, flooded pastures, marshes, estuaries, and lakes. They’ve been spotted as high as 14,00 feet above sea level in the Rocky Mountains! These gulls prefer to nest in freshwater marshes with abundant vegetation and patches of open water.

Like other gulls in the United States, they forage by walking, wading, swimming, or flying and catching insects from the air. In agricultural areas, they’ve been known to follow tractors and feed on worms and insects dug up by plowing.

Colonies are very sensitive to disturbance. “Panic flights,” where large numbers of gulls fly off their nest sites and circle in silence for several minutes, occur when humans or predators disturb the colony. Although these terns and gulls aren’t Franklin’s Gulls, this video gives a good idea of what a panic flight looks like!

YouTube video

 

Populations of Franklin’s Gulls have declined throughout their range. As a result, Partners in Flight have listed them on the Yellow Watch List. They’re threatened by the loss of wetland habitat, environmental pollutants, climate change, and their sensitivity to human disturbance.


#11. Bonaparte’s Gull

  • Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults measure 11 to 11.8 inches in length and have a wingspan of 35.4 to 39.4 inches.
  • Breeding adults have black heads, gray wings, white undersides, and large white triangles on their wingtips.
  • They have red legs, small bodies, and slender bills.

This is the smallest species of gull in the United States!

Look for Bonaparte’s Gulls on ocean bays, lakes, and swamps. They breed and nest where coniferous trees meet the edges of lakes and bogs.

They visit many aquatic habitats during migration and winter, including lakes, rivers, coastal estuaries and lagoons, and the open sea. In addition, they often congregate around sewage treatment ponds, probably due to the increased insect availability in these areas.

Bonaparte’s Gulls are also known for their “conveyer belt” foraging, which they use in some areas. Large numbers of Bonaparte’s will fly upwind above the water’s surface, dipping down to seize prey such as small fish. Then, when they reach the end of the food patch, they fly upward, and the wind carries them back to the beginning.


#12. Short-billed Gull

  • Larus brachyrhynchus

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults measure between 16.1 and 18.1 inches in length and have a 42.1 to 44.9-inch wingspan.
  • Breeding adults are medium gray above and white below.
  • They have a white head, black wingtips with white spots, yellow legs, dark eyes, and a yellow bill.

Short-billed Gulls occupy various habitats and spend time along the shorelines of lakes, rivers, and the ocean. However, they’re primarily found feeding near the Pacific coast in marine waters, lagoons, mudflats, bays, and harbors during the winter.

They will also travel inland to abundant prey areas such as wet fields, sewage treatment plants, pastures, and landfills. They nest in habitats associated with the far north, including taiga, tundra, marshes, meadows, coastal cliffs, and islands on rivers and lakes.

Like most gulls in the United States, these birds are opportunistic omnivores and have several foraging strategies. They can catch prey in the air, skim along the water’s surface, or plunge in after prey. They’re sometimes observed attacking other seabirds and stealing their prey.

Short-billed Gulls used to be classified as a sub-species of the common gull. They weren’t recognized as a separate species until 2021! Partners in Flight rate them as a species of low conservation concern. However, oil spills greatly affect local populations, which damage their plumage and habitats and kill their prey.


#13. Black Tern

  • Chlidonias niger

common terns in the united states

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 9.1 to 14.2 inches in length and have a 22.4 to 23.6-inch wingspan.
  • Breeding adults are dark gray above with black heads, black undersides, and pale underwings.
  • They have dark legs, eyes, and bills.

Black Terns prefer wetlands with extensive vegetation and open water for breeding. They can be spotted in various wetland habitats during migration, including lagoons, river edges, lakes, marshes, sewage lagoons, beaches, and open ocean waters.

They spend their winters in coastal regions of the tropics foraging for small fish in coastal waters. However, they’ll also spend time in lagoons, saltpans, estuaries, shrimp farms, marshes, and farm fields not far from the coast.

Black Terns generally hunt their prey in flight. But, unlike many gulls and terns in the United States, Black Terns don’t plunge into the water after prey. Instead, they fly low over marsh vegetation and water, swooping low to scoop up prey. They’re agile flyers and will also capture insects out of the air, chasing after them like a swallow.

Black Tern populations have been declining since 1966. Populations frequently move and are difficult to monitor, and the causes of their decline aren’t well understood. However, it’s likely that destruction of wetland habitat, pesticide pollution, and climate change have all contributed.


#14. Common Tern

  • Sterna hirundo

species of terns in the united states

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 12.2 to 15 inches in length and have a 29.5 to 31.5-inch wingspan.
  • Breeding adults are gray overall, but their underside may be lighter. A black cap extends to the back of the neck.
  • They have orange legs, an orange bill tipped in black, and dark wingtips.

Common Terns are primarily found in aquatic habitats in the United States, including the ocean, lakes, bays, and beaches.

These terns primarily feed by flying over the water, hovering, and plunging in to catch prey below the surface. However, they will also catch insects in the air and steal food from other terns.

Common Terns engage in courtship displays in the air and on the ground. In the air, the male crouches while the female flies over him then they descend to the ground in a zigzag pattern. On the ground, the male walks around the female with his head down and his wings out and down.

Together the pair will aggressively defend their territory from intruders. First, they will try to ward off intruders by posturing with their heads down and their wings out and down. If this fails, they’ll attack intruders, wresting and fencing with their bills. If humans enter the colony, they will dive toward them, peck their heads, and defecate on them.


#15. Forster’s Tern

  • Sterna forsteri

types of terns in the united states

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults measure from 13 to 14.2 inches in length and have 30.7 to 31.5-inch wingspan.
  • Breeding adults are gray above and white below with a black cap.
  • They have an orange bill with a black tip, orange legs, and silvery wingtips.

The Forster’s Tern is the most widespread tern in the United States!

Forster’s Terns spend the breeding season in marshes and wetlands. They winter along the coast and can be spotted in estuaries, inlets, coastal lagoons, and sheltered bays.

Forster’s Terns typically fly along or near shorelines 20 to 25 feet in the air and feed on small fish. They catch prey by diving and plunging into the water, occasionally from as high as 50 feet up. These birds normally make shallow dives but can take prey nearly a foot below the water’s surface.

The populations of Forster’s Tern are difficult to monitor because their colonies shift locations from year to year. However, they’re believed to be stable. Sea-level rise and destruction of wetland habitats may become issues in the future for this species.


#16. Royal Tern

  • Thalasseus maximus

kinds of terns in the united states

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 17.7 to 19.7 inches in length and have a 39.4 to 43.3-inch wingspan.
  • Breeding adults are gray below and white above.
  • They have a black crest and bright orange bill.

Royal Terns spend their lives in warm coastal waters. They’re frequently spotted in sheltered areas with shallow water, such as estuaries, bays, lagoons, and sandy beaches. They occasionally travel out to sea or inland, especially when feeding young, but stay within 50 miles of the coast.

Breeding pairs of Royal Terns choose a site and build their nests together. The nests are simple scrapes in the earth. But, they have an unusual way of strengthening their nests. They defecate around the rim of the nest, and as it hardens, it reinforces the nest rim and helps keep it from flooding.

Royal Terns can recognize each other by voice, which helps parents only provide food to their own chicks. Large breeding flocks find this useful so that parents don’t get nests mixed up!

Unlike most terns in the United States, the young remain with their parents, and the family travels southward as a group.


#17. Least Tern

  • Sternula antillarum

 terns in the united states

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 8.3 to 9.1 inches in length and have a wingspan of 18.9 to 20.9 inches.
  • Breeding adults are pale gray and white.
  • They have a black cap, white forehead, and yellow bill.

This species is the smallest tern in the United States and the world!

Look for Least Terns in various aquatic habitats, including bays, estuaries, and reservoirs. Least Terns winter on South American coastlines, often in bays or estuaries near river mouths.

Both parents defend the nest and a small area around it. They will call loudly and launch attack flights against trespassers. In addition, they may dive-bomb anyone that approaches their nest. This behavior has earned them the nickname “little strikers.”

Least Tern populations have declined severely in the last half-century. Nesting colonies compete with humans for space on sandy beaches. Unfortunately, they are also highly susceptible to oil spills and other pollutants.


#18. Caspian Tern

  • Hydroprogne caspia

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 18.5 to 21.3 inches in length and have a 49.6 to 50.4-inch wingspan.
  • Breeding adults are white overall with pale gray upper wings and a black crown, and from below, the outer primary wing feathers are dark gray.
  • They have black legs and a coral-red bill with a dusky tip.

Caspian Terns rarely travel far out to sea.

They occupy various aquatic habitats, from coasts and barrier islands to interior rivers and lakes.

Caspian Terns hunt by flying over the water and diving after prey they spot, often plunging several feet below the surface. They will also occasionally chase other birds and steal their food.

Male Caspian Terns use an age-old strategy to attract a mate – he gives the female a present! He will catch a fish and present it to a female while nodding. Receptive females accept the fish and sometimes hunch down, jerk their head up and down, and call like a chick begging for food. Watch below!

YouTube video

Caspian Tern populations are believed to be stable overall though they are difficult to monitor because many colonies nest in remote areas. Several U.S. states and Canada list them as threatened, vulnerable, or endangered. Pesticides, hunting, colony disturbance, and loss of nesting areas all contribute to the decline of this tern.


#19. Northern Fulmar

  • Fulmarus glacialis

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 15.3 to 19.7 inches in length and have a 39.4 to 44.1-inch wingspan.
  • Most fulmars are “light morph” and gray above and white below; some “dark morphs” are pale to dark gray.
  • They have a thick bill and bluish legs.

Unlike most other terns in the United States, Northern Fulmars spend the majority of their lives on the open ocean and are rarely seen from land. They breed and nest in colonies on sea cliffs, generally over cold water, in hard to reach areas.

Northern Fulmars will feed during the day or night, catching much of their prey by seizing items on or just below the surface while swimming. However, they may also dive into the water from the air going as deep as 12 feet!

They often follow whaling vessels and scoop up garbage, offal, and bycatch. Northern Fulmars eat squid, crustaceans, jellyfish, octopuses, bristle worms, carcasses of dead marine animals, and fish.

Both chicks and adults can defend against predators by spraying foul-smelling oil from their mouths for several yards. Their stomach produces the oil, which mats the feathers of avian predators, limiting their flight.


#20. Black-legged Kittiwake

  • Rissa tridactyla

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults range from 15 to 16.1 inches in length and have a wingspan of about 37 inches.
  • Breeding adults are pale gray above and white below with neat black wingtips.
  • They have yellow bills and jet-black legs.

Black-legged Kittiwakes spend most of their time at sea. They forage primarily in cold water and nest in large colonies on seaside cliffs to avoid predators. Occasionally, they nest on buildings and shipwrecks.

They do most of their foraging in flight. They dip down and skim the surface or plunge into the water after prey, diving up to three feet. These birds also steal prey from other kittiwakes! Black-legged Kittiwakes primarily feed on small fish, squid, marine worms, zooplankton, and jellyfish.

During the spring bonding period, pairs will greet each other with nodding, head-bobbing, and crossed necks. It often looks like humans saying hello after an extended time apart!

Males defend their nest sites vigorously. They use a protective posture that includes extending their neck and rising off the ground, then facing their opponent with an open bill. They may also fight, grabbing another kittiwake’s bill and twisting their opponent’s head.

YouTube video

Black-legged Kittiwakes are a species of low conservation concern in North America. However, some countries have seen rapid declines, which are believed to be related to warming sea temperatures that have reduced plankton populations.

 


Learn about other awesome creatures in the United States!


Which of these gulls and terns in the United States have you seen before?

Tell us below in the COMMENTS section!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *