Gulls & Terns in Edinburgh
Our list for Edinburgh has 12 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 4 residents, 3 summer visitors, 4 passage migrants and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Edinburgh in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 12, most common first
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusSummer visitorCommon52–64 cmRecorded all year
European Herring GullLarus argentatusResidentCommon55–67 cmRecorded all year
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusResidentCommon38–44 cmRecorded all year
Common GullLarus canusResidentCommon40–46 cmRecorded all year
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisSummer visitorCommon36–41 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorCommon31–35 cmRegularly May–Oct
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentCommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaPassage migrantUncommon33–39 cmRegularly May–Oct
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaPassage migrantUncommon37–41 cmRegularly Mar–Dec
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusPassage migrantUncommon25–30 cmRegularly Sep–Nov
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusPassage migrantUncommon37–40 cmRegularly Jul–Jan
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiScarceUncommon33–41 cmRegularly Jul
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Little Gull 25–30 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Roseate Tern 33–41 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
- Lesser Black-backed Gull 52–64 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