Gulls & Terns in France
Our list for France has 25 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 7 residents, 7 summer visitors, 6 winter visitors, 4 passage migrants and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in France in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 25, most common first
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusResidentCommon38–44 cmRecorded all year
Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellisResidentCommon52–68 cmRecorded all year
European Herring GullLarus argentatusResidentCommon55–67 cmRecorded all year
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentCommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorCommon31–35 cmRegularly Mar–Nov
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusResidentUncommon52–64 cmRecorded all year
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusResidentUncommon37–40 cmRecorded all year
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisResidentUncommon36–41 cmRecorded all year
Common GullLarus canusWinter visitorUncommon40–46 cmRecorded all year
Little TernSternula albifronsSummer visitorUncommon21–25 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaSummer visitorUncommon33–42 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaWinter visitorUncommon37–41 cmRecorded all year
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusWinter visitorUncommon25–30 cmRecorded all year
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantUncommon27–33 cmRegularly Aug–Dec
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaPassage migrantRare33–39 cmRegularly May–Nov
Audouin's GullIchthyaetus audouiniiSummer visitorRare48–52 cmRegularly Feb–Dec
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusSummer visitorRare20–27 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWinter visitorRare43–54 cmRegularly Dec–Mar
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorRare62–68 cmRegularly Dec–Mar
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiSummer visitorRare33–41 cmRegularly May–Aug
Forster's TernSterna forsteriPassage migrantRare33–36 cmRegularly Feb
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorRare52–60 cmRegularly Dec–Feb
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
- Sabine's Gull 27–33 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Bonaparte's Gull 28–38 cm
- Forster's Tern 33–36 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Roseate Tern 33–41 cm
- Gull-billed Tern 33–42 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
- Ring-billed Gull 43–54 cm
- Audouin's Gull 48–52 cm
- Iceland Gull 52–60 cm
- Lesser Black-backed Gull 52–64 cm
- American Herring Gull 53–65 cm
- Yellow-legged Gull 52–68 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