Gulls & Terns in Pennsylvania
Our list for Pennsylvania has 15 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 1 resident, 2 summer visitors, 7 winter visitors and 5 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Pennsylvania in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 15, most common first
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWinter visitorCommon43–54 cmRecorded all year
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusWinter visitorCommon53–65 cmRecorded all year
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusWinter visitorUncommon64–79 cmRegularly Jul–Apr
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Sep–May
Forster's TernSterna forsteriPassage migrantRare33–36 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorRare52–60 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorRare22–26 cmRegularly May–Sep
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorRare31–35 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorRare62–68 cmRegularly Dec–Mar
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaResidentRare37–41 cmRegularly Dec
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusPassage migrantRare25–30 cmRegularly Nov–May
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanPassage migrantRare32–36 cmRegularly Aug–Nov
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusPassage migrantRare38–44 cmRegularly Mar–Apr
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
- 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