Family

Laridae

98 species · Animals

Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Charadriiformes › Laridae

Australasian Fairy Tern

Sternula nereis Gould, 1843

Sternula nereis, the fairy tern, is a small 25 cm tern with distinct plumage differences between breeding and non-breeding seasons.

Peruvian Tern

Sternula lorata (Philippi & Landbeck, 1861)

Sternula lorata, the Peruvian tern, is a small endemic tern of South America's tropical west coast with specific habitats and breeding habits.

Damara Tern

Sternula balaenarum Strickland, 1853

Sternula balaenarum, the Damara tern, is a small pale tern that breeds in coastal Southern Africa and migrates north for the non-breeding season.

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)

Gelochelidon nilotica, the gull-billed tern, is a fairly large powerful tern with distinctive feeding habits found across many warmer regions globally.

Australian Tern

Gelochelidon macrotarsa (Gould, 1837)

Gelochelidon macrotarsa is a distinctive large Australian tern that reaches New Guinea in non-breeding seasons.

Caspian Tern

Hydroprogne caspia (Pallas, 1770)

Hydroprogne caspia, the Caspian tern, is the world's largest tern, found across multiple continents with some declining populations.

Royal Tern

Thalasseus maximus (Boddaert, 1783)

Thalasseus maximus, the royal tern, is a large seabird found on both coasts of the Americas with distinctive plumage variation through the year.

Great Crested Tern

Thalasseus bergii (M.H.K.Lichtenstein, 1823)

Thalasseus bergii, the greater crested tern, is a large Old World coastal tern with distinct plumage and multiple subspecies.

Sandwich Tern

Thalasseus sandvicensis (Latham, 1787)

Thalasseus sandvicensis, the Sandwich tern, is a medium-large tern with distinctive black yellow-tipped bills and specific plumage patterns.

Elegant Tern

Thalasseus elegans (Gambel, 1849)

Thalasseus elegans (elegant tern) is a medium-large tern with specific identifying traits, a mostly Gulf of California population, and vulnerability to disturbance.

Lesser Crested Tern

Thalasseus bengalensis (R.Lesson, 1831)

Thalasseus bengalensis, the lesser crested tern, is a medium-large tern that breeds in subtropical coastal areas across the Eastern Hemisphere.

Chinese Crested Tern

Thalasseus bernsteini (Schlegel, 1863)

Thalasseus bernsteini, the Chinese crested tern, is a critically endangered medium-large tern, with population under 50, rediscovered in 2000.

West African Crested Tern

Thalasseus albididorsalis (E.Hartert, 1921)

Thalasseus albididorsalis, the West African crested tern, is a large crested tern breeding along West Africa and ranging to Namibia off-season.

Western Gull

Larus occidentalis Audubon, 1839

Larus occidentalis, the western gull, is a large North Pacific gull with two recognized subspecies.

Glaucous Gull

Larus hyperboreus Gunnerus, 1767

Larus hyperboreus, the glaucous gull, is a large pale Arctic gull that is among the world’s heaviest gull species.

Heermann's Gull

Larus heermanni Cassin, 1852

Heermann's gull (Larus heermanni) is a distinct North American west coast gull with a concentrated breeding range.

Yellow-footed Gull

Larus livens Dwight, 1919

Larus livens, the yellow-footed gull, is a large gull native to Mexico's Gulf of California with characteristic plumage and measurements.

Common Gull

Larus canus Linnaeus, 1758

Larus canus (common gull) is a medium-sized gull with a wide northern Palearctic breeding range and an estimated global population of one million pairs.