page_title: List of birds of North America (Charadriiformes)
section_title: Gulls, terns and skimmers
hierarchical_section_title: List of birds of North America (Charadriiformes) / Gulls, terns and skimmers
caption_attribution_description: English: A Western Gull in front of the Golden Gate Bridge
context_page_description: The birds listed below all belong to the biological order Charadriiformes, and are native to North America.
context_section_description: Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae
  Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds and includes gulls, terns, kittiwakes and skimmers. Gulls are typically gray or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years. Skimmers are a small family of tropical tern-like birds. They have an elongated lower mandible which they use to feed by flying low over the water surface and skimming the water for small fish.
  Aleutian tern, Onychoprion aleuticus LC
  American herring gull, Larus (argentatus) smithsonianus (L. argentatus: )
  Arctic tern, Sterna paradisaea LC
  Bonaparte's gull, Chroicocephalus philadelphia LC
  Belcher's gull, Larus belcheri (A) LC
  Black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus LC
  Black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla LC
  Black noddy, Anous minutus LC
  Black skimmer, Rynchops niger LC
  Black-tailed gull, Larus crassirostris (A) LC
  Black tern, Chlidonias niger LC
  Bridled tern, Onychoprion anaethetus LC
  Brown noddy, Anous stolidus LC
  California gull, Larus californicus LC
  Caspian tern, Hydroprogne caspia LC
  Mew gull, Larus canus LC
  Common tern, Sterna hirundo LC
  Elegant tern, Thalasseus elegans NT
  Forster's tern, Sterna forsteri LC
  Franklin's gull, Leucophaeus pipixcan LC
  Glaucous gull, Larus hyperboreus LC
  Glaucous-winged gull, Larus glaucescens LC
  Gray gull, Leucophaeus modestus (A) LC
  Great black-backed gull, Larus marinus LC
  Gray-hooded gull, Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus (A) LC
  Gull-billed tern, Gelochelidon nilotica LC
  Heermann's gull, Larus heermanni NT
  Iceland gull, Larus glaucoides (without L. thayeri: LC)
  Inca tern, Larosterna inca (A) NT
  Ivory gull, Pagophila eburnea NT
  Kelp gull, Larus dominicanus LC
  Large-billed tern, Phaetusa simplex (A) LC
  Laughing gull, Leucophaeus atricilla LC
  Least tern, Sternula antillarum LC E (California least tern S. a. browni: E)
  Lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus LC
  Little gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus LC
  Red-legged kittiwake, Rissa brevirostris VU
  Ring-billed gull, Larus delawarensis LC
  Roseate tern, Sterna dougallii LC (ssp. dougallii: E or T)
  Ross's gull, Rhodostethia rosea LC
  Royal tern, Thalasseus maximus LC
  Sabine's gull, Xema sabini LC
  Sandwich tern, Sterna sandvicensis LC
  Slaty-backed gull, Larus schistisagus LC
  Sooty tern, Onychoprion fuscatus LC
  Swallow-tailed gull, Creagrus furcatus (A) LC
  Thayer's gull, Larus thayeri LC
  Western gull, Larus occidentalis LC
  Whiskered tern, Chlidonias hybridus (A) LC
  White tern, Gygis alba LC
  White-winged tern, Chlidonias leucopterus (A) LC
  Yellow-billed tern, Sternula superciliaris LC
  Yellow-footed gull, Larus livens LC
  Yellow-legged gull, Larus cachinnans (A) LC
caption: A western gull in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
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