Gulls & Terns in Montana
Our list for Montana has 11 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 6 summer visitors, 2 winter visitors and 3 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Montana in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 11, most common first
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisSummer visitorCommon43–54 cmRecorded all year
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanSummer visitorUncommon32–36 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusWinter visitorUncommon53–65 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaSummer visitorUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Forster's TernSterna forsteriSummer visitorUncommon33–36 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesPassage migrantUncommon52–60 cmRegularly Oct–Mar
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorUncommon31–35 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly May–Sep
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantUncommon27–33 cmRegularly Sep–Oct
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorRare62–68 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusPassage migrantRare52–64 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
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
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