page_title: List of birds of Malawi
section_title: Gulls, terns, and skimmers
hierarchical_section_title: List of birds of Malawi / Gulls, terns, and skimmers
caption_attribution_description: Rynchops flavirostris
context_page_description: This is a list of the bird species recorded in Malawi. The avifauna of Malawi include a total of 684 species, of which 2 have been introduced by humans. 21 species are globally threatened. 1 species is endemic.
  This list's taxonomic treatment and nomenclature follow the conventions of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 2019 edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for Malawi.
  The following tags have been used to highlight several categories, but not all species fall into one of these categories. Those that do not are commonly occurring native species.
  Accidental - a rarely occurring species in Malawi
  Endemic - a species endemic to Malawi
  (I) Introduced - a species introduced to Malawi as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions
  Extirpated - a species that no longer occurs in Malawi although populations exist elsewhere
context_section_description: Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae
  Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically grey 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.
  Gray-hooded gull, Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus
  Black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus (A)
  Lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus
  Sooty tern, Onychoprion fuscatus (A)
  Gull-billed tern, Gelochelidon nilotica
  White-winged tern, Chlidonias leucopterus
  Whiskered tern, Chlidonias hybrida
  Common tern, Sterna hirundo (A)
  African skimmer, Rynchops flavirostris
caption: African skimmer, breeds along the River Shire
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