Gulls & Terns in North Carolina
Our list for North Carolina has 19 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 3 residents, 5 summer visitors, 6 winter visitors and 5 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in North Carolina in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 19, most common first
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWinter visitorCommon43–54 cmRegularly Jul–May
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusResidentUncommon53–65 cmRecorded all year
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentUncommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorUncommon31–35 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Forster's TernSterna forsteriResidentUncommon33–36 cmRecorded all year
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly May–Sep
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisSummer visitorUncommon36–41 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRecorded all year
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaSummer visitorRare33–42 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaPassage migrantRare33–39 cmRegularly May–Jun
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusPassage migrantRare25–30 cmRegularly Jan–Mar
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiSummer visitorRare33–41 cmRegularly Apr–Aug
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorRare52–60 cmRegularly Nov–May
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusWinter visitorRare38–44 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaPassage migrantRare37–41 cmRegularly Nov–Jan
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorRare62–68 cmRegularly Dec–Apr
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanPassage migrantRare32–36 cmRegularly Oct–Nov
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantRare27–33 cmRegularly Sep
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
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Roseate Tern 33–41 cm
- Gull-billed Tern 33–42 cm
- Sandwich Tern 36–41 cm
- Kittiwake 37–41 cm
- Black-headed Gull 38–44 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