Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon nilotica
The Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) is a common skimmers, noddies, terns, and gull found in 170 countries, weighing about 218 g. The gull-billed tern is a tern in the family Laridae.
About the Gull-billed Tern
The gull-billed tern is a tern in the family Laridae. It is widely distributed and breeds in scattered localities in Europe, Asia, northwest Africa, and the Americas. The Australian gull-billed tern was previously considered a subspecies.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
This is a fairly large and powerful tern, similar in size and general appearance to a Sandwich tern, but the short thick gull-like bill, broad wings, long legs and robust body are distinctive. The summer adult has grey upperparts, white underparts, a black cap, strong black bill and black legs. The call is a characteristic ker-wik. It is 33–42 cm (13–17 in) in length and 76–91 cm (30–36 in) in wingspan. Body mass ranges from 150–292 g (5.3–10.3 oz). In winter, the cap is lost, and there is a dark patch through the eye like a Forster's tern or a Mediterranean gull.
What the Gull-billed Tern sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Canada, Finland, New Zealand, Benin, Gabon, Liberia, St. Barthélemy, Gibraltar, St. Kitts & Nevis, Czechia, North Macedonia, Guam.
When to see it
The Gull-billed Tern can be seen all year round, with peak activity in April. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Gull-billed Tern?
- This is a fairly large and powerful tern, similar in size and general appearance to a Sandwich tern, but the short thick gull-like bill, broad wings, long legs and robust body are distinctive. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Gull-billed Tern?
- The Gull-billed Tern is a medium sized bird weighing about 218 g.
- Where can you see a Gull-billed Tern?
- The Gull-billed Tern occurs in 170 countries, including the United States, India, Spain, France and Australia.
- What does a Gull-billed Tern sound like?
- You can listen to 2 field recordings of the Gull-billed Tern on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Gull-billed Tern?
- The Gull-billed Tern is most easily confused with the Australian Tern.
- Is the Gull-billed Tern endangered?
- The Gull-billed Tern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Gull-billed Tern for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
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