Gulls & Terns in Finland
Our list for Finland has 15 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 3 residents, 7 summer visitors, 4 passage migrants and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Finland in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 15, most common first
Common GullLarus canusResidentCommon40–46 cmRecorded all year
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusSummer visitorCommon38–44 cmRegularly Mar–Dec
European Herring GullLarus argentatusResidentCommon55–67 cmRecorded all year
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorCommon31–35 cmRegularly Apr–Aug
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentCommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusSummer visitorCommon52–64 cmRegularly Mar–Oct
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaSummer visitorCommon33–39 cmRegularly Apr–Aug
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusSummer visitorCommon25–30 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Little TernSternula albifronsSummer visitorUncommon21–25 cmRegularly May–Aug
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusScarceRare37–40 cmRegularly Oct
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorRare22–26 cmRegularly May–Jul
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusPassage migrantRare62–68 cmRegularly Jan–Feb
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaPassage migrantRare37–41 cmRegularly Oct–Nov
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisPassage migrantRare36–41 cmRegularly Jun–Aug
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusPassage migrantRare20–27 cmRegularly May–Jun
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
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Mediterranean Gull 37–40 cm
- Sandwich Tern 36–41 cm
- Kittiwake 37–41 cm
- Black-headed Gull 38–44 cm
- Common Gull 40–46 cm
- Lesser Black-backed Gull 52–64 cm
- European Herring Gull 55–67 cm
- Glaucous Gull 62–68 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