Gulls & Terns in Namibia
Our list for Namibia has 7 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 2 residents, 3 summer visitors, 1 passage migrant and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Namibia in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 7, most common first
Common TernSterna hirundoResidentUncommon31–35 cmRecorded all year
Damara TernSternula balaenarumSummer visitorUncommon22–24 cmRegularly Jul–May
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisResidentUncommon36–41 cmRecorded all year
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusSummer visitorUncommon20–27 cmRegularly Aug–May
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Little TernSternula albifronsPassage migrantRare21–25 cmRegularly Mar
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaScarceRare33–39 cm
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Damara Tern 22–24 cm
- Little Tern 21–25 cm
- White-winged Tern 20–27 cm
- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Sandwich Tern 36–41 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