Gulls & Terns in Russia
Our list for Russia has 20 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 3 residents, 10 summer visitors, 2 winter visitors, 4 passage migrants and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Russia in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 20, most common first
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusSummer visitorCommon38–44 cmRecorded all year
European Herring GullLarus argentatusResidentCommon55–67 cmRecorded all year
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorCommon31–35 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Common GullLarus canusResidentCommon40–46 cmRecorded all year
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaPassage migrantCommon37–41 cmRegularly Mar–Oct
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusSummer visitorUncommon52–64 cmRecorded all year
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorUncommon62–68 cmRegularly Jun–Mar
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaSummer visitorUncommon33–39 cmRegularly May–Aug
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusSummer visitorUncommon20–27 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentUncommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Vega GullLarus vegaeSummer visitorUncommon55–67 cmRegularly Mar–Oct
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusSummer visitorUncommon25–30 cmRegularly Mar–Nov
Black-tailed GullLarus crassirostrisSummer visitorUncommon43–51 cmRegularly May–Oct
Little TernSternula albifronsSummer visitorUncommon21–25 cmRegularly May–Sep
Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellisWinter visitorUncommon52–68 cmRecorded all year
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisPassage migrantUncommon36–41 cmRegularly Dec–Sep
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusPassage migrantUncommon37–40 cmRegularly Oct–May
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaPassage migrantUncommon33–42 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesScarceRare52–60 cm
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
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Gull-billed Tern 33–42 cm
- Sandwich Tern 36–41 cm
- Mediterranean Gull 37–40 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
- Yellow-legged Gull 52–68 cm
- European Herring Gull 55–67 cm
- Vega 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