Gulls & Terns in Japan
Our list for Japan has 14 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 1 resident, 4 summer visitors, 5 winter visitors, 3 passage migrants and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Japan in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 14, most common first
Black-tailed GullLarus crassirostrisSummer visitorCommon43–51 cmRecorded all year
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusWinter visitorCommon38–44 cmRegularly Aug–Jun
Little TernSternula albifronsSummer visitorUncommon21–25 cmRegularly Apr–Aug
Vega GullLarus vegaeWinter visitorUncommon55–67 cmRegularly Sep–May
Common GullLarus canusWinter visitorUncommon40–46 cmRegularly Oct–May
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorUncommon62–68 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorUncommon31–35 cmRegularly Mar–Dec
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaResidentUncommon37–41 cmRegularly Sep–Jul
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiSummer visitorRare33–41 cmRegularly May–Aug
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesPassage migrantRare52–60 cmRegularly Jan–Mar
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusPassage migrantRare20–27 cmRegularly May–Sep
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaPassage migrantRare33–42 cmRegularly Jun
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusScarceRare53–65 cmRegularly Feb
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Little Tern 21–25 cm
- White-winged Tern 20–27 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Roseate Tern 33–41 cm
- Gull-billed Tern 33–42 cm
- Kittiwake 37–41 cm
- Black-headed Gull 38–44 cm
- Common Gull 40–46 cm
- Black-tailed Gull 43–51 cm
- Iceland Gull 52–60 cm
- Lesser Black-backed Gull 52–64 cm
- American Herring Gull 53–65 cm
- Vega Gull 55–67 cm
- Glaucous Gull 62–68 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