page_title: List of birds of Oman
section_title: Gulls, terns, and skimmers
hierarchical_section_title: List of birds of Oman / Gulls, terns, and skimmers
caption_attribution_description: Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus) Lady Elliot Island, SE Queensland, Australia
context_page_description: This is a list of the bird species recorded in Oman. The avifauna of Oman include a total of 543 species, of which 7 have been introduced by humans. 27 species are globally threatened.
  This list's taxonomic treatment and nomenclature generally follow the conventions of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 2019 edition with a few changes based on the list of the Ornithological Society of the Middle East. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect the Clements taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for Oman.
  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 species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Oman
  (I) Introduced - a species introduced to Oman as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions
  Extirpated - a species that no longer occurs in Oman although populations exist elsewhere
  (X) Extinct - a species or subspecies that no longer exists
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.
  Black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla (A)
  Sabine's gull, Xema sabini (A)
  Slender-billed gull, Chroicocephalus genei
  Black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus  ridibundus
  Brown-headed gull, Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus (A)
  White-eyed gull, Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus (A)
  Sooty gull, Ichthyaetus hemprichii
  Pallas's gull, Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus
  Mew gull, Larus canus
  Herring gull, Larus argentatus
  Caspian gull, Larus cachinnans
  Lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus
  Brown noddy, Anous stolidus
  Lesser noddy, Anous tenuirostris
  Sooty tern, Onychoprion fuscatus
  Bridled tern, Onychoprion anaethetus
  Little tern, Sternula albifrons
  Saunders's tern, Sternula saundersi
  Gull-billed tern, Gelochelidon nilotica
  Caspian tern, Hydroprogne caspia
  Black tern, Chlidonias niger (A)
  White-winged tern, Chlidonias leucopterus
  Whiskered tern, Chlidonias hybridus
  Roseate tern, Sterna dougallii
  Common tern, Sterna hirundo
  Arctic tern, Sterna paradisaea (A)
  White-cheeked tern, Sterna repressa
  Great crested tern, Thalasseus bergii
  Sandwich tern, Thalasseus sandvicensis
  Lesser crested tern, Thalasseus bengalensis
  African skimmer, Rynchops flavirostris (A)
  Indian skimmer, Rynchops albicollis (A)
caption: Bridled tern, common breeder on offshore islands.
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