Gulls & Terns in Turkey
Our list for Turkey has 16 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 3 residents, 5 summer visitors, 7 winter visitors and 1 passage migrant
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Turkey in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 16, most common first
Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellisResidentCommon52–68 cmRecorded all year
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusWinter visitorCommon38–44 cmRecorded all year
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorCommon31–35 cmRegularly Mar–Oct
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisWinter visitorUncommon36–41 cmRecorded all year
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusResidentUncommon37–40 cmRecorded all year
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusSummer visitorUncommon20–27 cmRecorded all year
Common GullLarus canusWinter visitorUncommon40–46 cmRegularly Oct–Mar
Little TernSternula albifronsSummer visitorUncommon21–25 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaSummer visitorUncommon33–42 cmRegularly Mar–Oct
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRecorded all year
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusWinter visitorUncommon25–30 cmRegularly Jul–May
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusWinter visitorRare64–79 cmRegularly Oct–Mar
Audouin's GullIchthyaetus audouiniiResidentRare48–52 cmRegularly Dec–Oct
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaPassage migrantRare37–41 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
European Herring GullLarus argentatusWinter visitorRare55–67 cmRegularly Dec–Feb
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
- Kittiwake 37–41 cm
- Black-headed Gull 38–44 cm
- Common Gull 40–46 cm
- Audouin's Gull 48–52 cm
- Lesser Black-backed Gull 52–64 cm
- Yellow-legged Gull 52–68 cm
- European Herring Gull 55–67 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