Gulls & Terns in Costa Rica
Our list for Costa Rica has 11 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 2 residents, 3 winter visitors and 6 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Costa Rica in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 11, most common first
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisResidentUncommon36–41 cmRecorded all year
Black TernChlidonias nigerResidentRare22–26 cmRecorded all year
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanWinter visitorRare32–36 cmRegularly Oct–Jun
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantRare27–33 cmRegularly Apr–Dec
Common TernSterna hirundoWinter visitorRare31–35 cmRecorded all year
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaWinter visitorRare33–42 cmRecorded all year
Forster's TernSterna forsteriPassage migrantRare33–36 cmRegularly Dec–Jan
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusPassage migrantRare53–65 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaPassage migrantRare28–38 cmRegularly Dec
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisPassage migrantRare43–54 cmRegularly Dec
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaPassage migrantRare33–39 cmRegularly Sep–Oct
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- Sabine's Gull 27–33 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Bonaparte's Gull 28–38 cm
- Franklin's Gull 32–36 cm
- Forster's Tern 33–36 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Gull-billed Tern 33–42 cm
- Sandwich Tern 36–41 cm
- Ring-billed Gull 43–54 cm
- American Herring Gull 53–65 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made