Gulls & Terns in Illinois
Our list for Illinois has 14 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 1 resident, 4 summer visitors, 6 winter visitors, 2 passage migrants and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Illinois in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 14, most common first
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisResidentCommon43–54 cmRecorded all year
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusWinter visitorCommon53–65 cmRecorded all year
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Aug–May
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorUncommon52–60 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusWinter visitorUncommon64–79 cmRegularly Sep–Mar
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanSummer visitorUncommon32–36 cmRegularly May–Nov
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly May–Sep
Forster's TernSterna forsteriSummer visitorUncommon33–36 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorUncommon62–68 cmRegularly Dec–Mar
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorRare31–35 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaPassage migrantRare37–41 cmRegularly Nov–Jan
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantRare27–33 cmRegularly Sep–Oct
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusScarceRare25–30 cm
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
- Kittiwake 37–41 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