Gulls & Terns in Kentucky
Our list for Kentucky has 11 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 1 resident, 7 winter visitors and 3 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Kentucky in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 11, most common first
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWinter visitorCommon43–54 cmRegularly Jul–Apr
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusWinter visitorUncommon53–65 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Sep–Mar
Forster's TernSterna forsteriWinter visitorUncommon33–36 cmRegularly Aug–May
Black TernChlidonias nigerPassage migrantRare22–26 cmRegularly May–Sep
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorRare52–60 cmRegularly Nov–Feb
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanPassage migrantRare32–36 cmRegularly May–Nov
Common TernSterna hirundoPassage migrantRare31–35 cmRegularly May–Oct
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorRare62–68 cmRegularly Dec–Feb
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentRare64–79 cmRegularly Feb
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- Bonaparte's Gull 28–38 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Franklin's Gull 32–36 cm
- Forster's Tern 33–36 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