Gulls & Terns in California
Our list for California has 17 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 1 resident, 3 summer visitors, 8 winter visitors and 5 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in California in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 17, most common first
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWinter visitorCommon43–54 cmRecorded all year
Forster's TernSterna forsteriResidentUncommon33–36 cmRecorded all year
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusWinter visitorUncommon53–65 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRecorded all year
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantUncommon27–33 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Common TernSterna hirundoPassage migrantUncommon31–35 cmRegularly Jul–Oct
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaPassage migrantUncommon33–39 cmRegularly Aug–Oct
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorUncommon52–60 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorRare22–26 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaWinter visitorRare37–41 cmRegularly Oct–May
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaSummer visitorRare33–42 cmRegularly Mar–Aug
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanSummer visitorRare32–36 cmRegularly Mar–Dec
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorRare62–68 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorRare52–64 cmRegularly Jul–Apr
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusPassage migrantRare38–44 cmRegularly Dec–Mar
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusPassage migrantRare25–30 cmRegularly May–Sep
Vega GullLarus vegaeWinter visitorRare55–67 cmRegularly Dec–Mar
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- Little Gull 25–30 cm
- Sabine's Gull 27–33 cm
- Bonaparte's Gull 28–38 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Franklin's Gull 32–36 cm
- Forster's Tern 33–36 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Gull-billed Tern 33–42 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