Gulls & Terns in Croatia
Our list for Croatia has 15 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 2 residents, 4 summer visitors, 3 winter visitors and 6 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Croatia in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 15, most common first
Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellisResidentCommon52–68 cmRecorded all year
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusResidentCommon38–44 cmRecorded all year
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorCommon31–35 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Common GullLarus canusWinter visitorCommon40–46 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusSummer visitorUncommon37–40 cmRecorded all year
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisWinter visitorUncommon36–41 cmRecorded all year
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Jul–May
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
European Herring GullLarus argentatusPassage migrantUncommon55–67 cmRegularly Sep–Jan
Little TernSternula albifronsSummer visitorUncommon21–25 cmRegularly May–Aug
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusPassage migrantUncommon20–27 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusPassage migrantUncommon64–79 cmRegularly Dec–Jan
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusPassage migrantUncommon25–30 cmRegularly Apr–Dec
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaPassage migrantRare33–42 cmRegularly Apr
Audouin's GullIchthyaetus audouiniiPassage migrantRare48–52 cmRegularly Jun–Aug
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Little Tern 21–25 cm
- White-winged Tern 20–27 cm
- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- Little Gull 25–30 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Gull-billed Tern 33–42 cm
- Mediterranean Gull 37–40 cm
- Sandwich Tern 36–41 cm
- Black-headed Gull 38–44 cm
- Common Gull 40–46 cm
- Audouin's Gull 48–52 cm
- Lesser Black-backed Gull 52–64 cm
- Yellow-legged Gull 52–68 cm
- European Herring Gull 55–67 cm
- Great Black-backed Gull 64–79 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