Gulls & Terns in Iceland
Our list for Iceland has 15 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 5 residents, 6 summer visitors, 1 winter visitor, 2 passage migrants and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Iceland in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 15, most common first
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaSummer visitorCommon33–39 cmRegularly May–Sep
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusResidentCommon38–44 cmRecorded all year
European Herring GullLarus argentatusResidentCommon55–67 cmRecorded all year
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentCommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorCommon52–60 cmRecorded all year
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusSummer visitorCommon52–64 cmRegularly Mar–Oct
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusResidentCommon62–68 cmRecorded all year
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaSummer visitorCommon37–41 cmRegularly Feb–Nov
Common GullLarus canusResidentCommon40–46 cmRecorded all year
Sabine's GullXema sabiniSummer visitorUncommon27–33 cmRegularly May–Sep
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusSummer visitorUncommon25–30 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisPassage migrantUncommon43–54 cmRegularly Mar–Apr
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorRare22–26 cmRegularly May–Jul
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusScarceRare20–27 cmRegularly Jun
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaPassage migrantRare28–38 cmRegularly Jul
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- White-winged Tern 20–27 cm
- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- Little Gull 25–30 cm
- Sabine's Gull 27–33 cm
- Bonaparte's Gull 28–38 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Kittiwake 37–41 cm
- Black-headed Gull 38–44 cm
- Common Gull 40–46 cm
- Ring-billed Gull 43–54 cm
- Iceland Gull 52–60 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