Gulls & Terns in Alaska
Our list for Alaska has 12 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 7 summer visitors, 1 winter visitor and 4 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Alaska in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 12, most common first
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaSummer visitorCommon37–41 cmRegularly Feb–Nov
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaSummer visitorCommon33–39 cmRegularly Apr–Aug
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusSummer visitorCommon62–68 cmRecorded all year
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusSummer visitorCommon53–65 cmRecorded all year
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaSummer visitorCommon28–38 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorCommon52–60 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
Vega GullLarus vegaeSummer visitorUncommon55–67 cmRegularly May–Nov
Sabine's GullXema sabiniSummer visitorUncommon27–33 cmRegularly May–Oct
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisPassage migrantRare43–54 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusPassage migrantRare38–44 cmRegularly May–Oct
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanPassage migrantRare32–36 cmRegularly May–Aug
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusPassage migrantRare52–64 cmRegularly Aug
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Sabine's Gull 27–33 cm
- Bonaparte's Gull 28–38 cm
- Franklin's Gull 32–36 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Kittiwake 37–41 cm
- Black-headed Gull 38–44 cm
- Ring-billed Gull 43–54 cm
- Iceland Gull 52–60 cm
- Lesser Black-backed Gull 52–64 cm
- American Herring Gull 53–65 cm
- Vega Gull 55–67 cm
- Glaucous Gull 62–68 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