Gulls & Terns in Indiana
Our list for Indiana has 14 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 2 summer visitors, 7 winter visitors and 5 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Indiana in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 14, most common first
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWinter visitorCommon43–54 cmRecorded all year
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusWinter visitorUncommon53–65 cmRecorded all year
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanPassage migrantUncommon32–36 cmRegularly Sep–Dec
Forster's TernSterna forsteriSummer visitorUncommon33–36 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Common TernSterna hirundoPassage migrantUncommon31–35 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly May–Sep
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusWinter visitorUncommon64–79 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Aug–May
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorRare62–68 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorRare52–60 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantRare27–33 cmRegularly Sep–Oct
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusPassage migrantRare25–30 cmRegularly Sep–Nov
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaPassage migrantRare37–41 cmRegularly Oct–Dec
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