Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

Greater Black-backed Gull

Gulls are typically medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. Most gulls are ground-nesting carnivores that take live food or scavenge opportunistically. Gulls are typically coastal or inland species.

The family is Laridae.

There are 50 species placed in 11 genera.

Creagrus with 1 specie (1)
Rissa with 2 species (1)
Pagophila with 1 specie
Xema with 1 specie
Saundersilarus with 1 specie
Chroicocephalus with 10 species (7)

Hydrocoloeus with 1 specie (1)

Rhodostethia with 1 specie

Leucophaeus with 5 species (4)

Ichthyaetus with 6 species (1)

Larus with 21 species (8)

So far I have photographed 23 different species

Click on one of the thumbnails below to see a bigger photograph.

Updated 23/03/2020

Noddies are tropical marine tern-like seabirds that show behavioral and morphological traits more akin to those of gulls than terns. Except around their breeding colonies, the Brown Noddy is seldom seen near land and is highly pelagic, wandering extensively in warm tropical waters where it searches for small fish and squid which are captured by hover-dipping and contact-dipping.

The family is Laridae.

There are 5 species placed in 1 genus.

Anous with 5 species (1)

So far I have photographed 1 specie

Skimmers are tern-like birds found in South Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The three species are the only birds with distinctive uneven bills, where the lower mandible is longer than the upper. This remarkable adaptation allows them to fish in a unique way, flying low and fast over streams.

The family is Laridae.

There are 3 species placed in 1 genus.

Rynchops with 3 species (2)

So far I have photographed 2 species

Terns are seabirds that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. They are slender, lightly built birds with long, forked tails, narrow wings, long bills, and relatively short legs.

The family is Laridae.

There are 39 species placed in 10 genera.

Gygis with 1 specie
Onychoprion with 4 species
Sternula with 7 species (1)
Phaetusa with 1 specie (1)
Gelochelidon with 1 specie (1)
Hydroprogne with 1 specie (1)

Larosterna with 1 specie (1)

Chlidonias with 4 species (3)

Sterna with 13 species (4)

Thalasseus with 6 species (5)

So far I have photographed 17 species

Bird Families of the World