Gulls & Terns in England
Our list for England has 23 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 7 residents, 10 summer visitors, 4 winter visitors, 1 passage migrant and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in England in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 23, most common first
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusResidentCommon38–44 cmRecorded all year
European Herring GullLarus argentatusResidentCommon55–67 cmRecorded all year
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusResidentCommon52–64 cmRecorded all year
Common GullLarus canusWinter visitorCommon40–46 cmRecorded all year
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorCommon31–35 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentCommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisSummer visitorUncommon36–41 cmRegularly Mar–Nov
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusResidentUncommon37–40 cmRecorded all year
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaResidentUncommon37–41 cmRecorded all year
Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellisResidentUncommon52–68 cmRecorded all year
Little TernSternula albifronsSummer visitorUncommon21–25 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaSummer visitorUncommon33–39 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusSummer visitorUncommon25–30 cmRecorded all year
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiSummer visitorRare33–41 cmRegularly May–Sep
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorRare52–60 cmRegularly Nov–May
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaSummer visitorRare28–38 cmRegularly Mar–Jan
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantRare27–33 cmRegularly Jul–Nov
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorRare62–68 cmRegularly Oct–Jun
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaSummer visitorRare33–42 cmRegularly May–Aug
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanScarceRare32–36 cm
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWinter visitorRare43–54 cmRegularly Dec–Mar
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusSummer visitorRare20–27 cmRegularly May–Sep
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
- Sabine's Gull 27–33 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Bonaparte's Gull 28–38 cm
- Franklin's Gull 32–36 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Roseate Tern 33–41 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
- Ring-billed Gull 43–54 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
- 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