Gulls & Terns in Connecticut
Our list for Connecticut has 15 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 2 residents, 3 summer visitors, 6 winter visitors, 2 passage migrants and 2 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Connecticut in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 15, most common first
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusResidentCommon53–65 cmRecorded all year
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWinter visitorCommon43–54 cmRecorded all year
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentCommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorCommon31–35 cmRegularly May–Sep
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorUncommon52–60 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Forster's TernSterna forsteriPassage migrantUncommon33–36 cmRegularly Jul–Nov
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiSummer visitorUncommon33–41 cmRegularly May–Aug
Common GullLarus canusPassage migrantUncommon40–46 cmRegularly Jan–Mar
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRecorded all year
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorUncommon62–68 cmRegularly Dec–Apr
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorRare22–26 cmRegularly May–Sep
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusWinter visitorRare38–44 cmRegularly Dec–Mar
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaScarceRare33–42 cm
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaScarceRare37–41 cm
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Bonaparte's Gull 28–38 cm
- Forster's Tern 33–36 cm
- Roseate Tern 33–41 cm
- Gull-billed Tern 33–42 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
- American Herring Gull 53–65 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