Gulls & Terns in India
Our list for India has 10 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 2 residents, 1 summer visitor, 4 winter visitors and 3 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in India in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 10, most common first
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaWinter visitorUncommon33–42 cmRecorded all year
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusWinter visitorUncommon38–44 cmRegularly Sep–May
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
Common TernSterna hirundoResidentUncommon31–35 cmRecorded all year
Little TernSternula albifronsResidentRare21–25 cmRecorded all year
Lesser NoddyAnous tenuirostrisPassage migrantRare30–34 cmRegularly Aug–Sep
Black-bellied TernSterna acuticaudaPassage migrantRare32–35 cmRegularly Jul–Jan
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisWinter visitorRare36–41 cmRecorded all year
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusSummer visitorRare20–27 cmRecorded all year
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiPassage migrantRare33–41 cmRegularly May–Aug
Smallest to largest
Length, cmData: 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