Gulls & Terns in Missouri
Our list for Missouri has 12 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 2 residents, 2 summer visitors, 5 winter visitors and 3 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Missouri in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 12, most common first
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWinter visitorCommon43–54 cmRegularly Jul–May
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusWinter visitorUncommon53–65 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanPassage migrantUncommon32–36 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Forster's TernSterna forsteriSummer visitorUncommon33–36 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly May–Sep
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Sep–Mar
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantRare27–33 cmRegularly Sep–Oct
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorRare52–60 cmRegularly Nov–Feb
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusResidentRare62–68 cmRegularly Jan–Mar
Common TernSterna hirundoPassage migrantRare31–35 cmRegularly May–Oct
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentRare64–79 cmRegularly Feb
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Black Tern 22–26 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
- 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