Gulls & Terns in Iran
Our list for Iran has 11 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 2 residents, 2 summer visitors, 5 winter visitors, 1 passage migrant and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Iran in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 11, most common first
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusWinter visitorCommon38–44 cmRecorded all year
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorCommon52–64 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaResidentCommon33–42 cmRecorded all year
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusSummer visitorCommon20–27 cmRecorded all year
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorUncommon31–35 cmRecorded all year
Common GullLarus canusWinter visitorUncommon40–46 cmRegularly Dec–Mar
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisWinter visitorUncommon36–41 cmRegularly Aug–May
Little TernSternula albifronsResidentUncommon21–25 cmRecorded all year
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusWinter visitorUncommon25–30 cmRegularly Oct–Feb
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusScarceRare37–40 cm
Black TernChlidonias nigerPassage migrantRare22–26 cmRegularly May
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
- Sandwich Tern 36–41 cm
- Mediterranean Gull 37–40 cm
- Black-headed Gull 38–44 cm
- Common Gull 40–46 cm
- Lesser Black-backed Gull 52–64 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