All species › To the gulls and terns › Comparing gulls
Comparing gulls
Gulls look alike, but a handful of features usually separates them: leg colour, the head, a red spot on the bill, black in the wing tip and the shade of grey on the mantle. Tap what you see below; the list then shows only the species that fit all your choices.
- Within one row you can pick several values (yellow or pink legs); across rows everything must match.
- Everything refers to adult birds. Immature gulls differ a lot and take up to four years to mature; see the species page for those.
- Leg and bill colour vary with season and light. If in doubt, pick two values.
What do you see?
No species fits this combination. Remove one choice.
| Species | Length | Legs | Head, summer | Head, winter | Bill | Red on bill | Wing tip | Mantle | Eye | What to look for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large gulls | ||||||||||
 Great Black-Backed GullLarus marinus | 64–79 cm | Pink | White head | White | Yellow | Red spot | Black | Black | pale eye, red ring | Slate-black mantle, pink legs and a massive bill; the black wing tip blends into the dark mantle, with a large white mirror and white tip. |
 Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreus | 62–68 cm | Pink | White head | Streaked | Yellow | Red spot | No black | Pale grey | pale eye, yellow ring | Pale grey mantle, entirely white primaries and pink legs; bulkier than a Herring Gull, with a thick neck and flat head. |
 Pallas's GullIchthyaetus ichthyaetus | 58–72 cm | Yellow | Black hood | Mask | Yellow, black band | Red spot | Little black | Pale grey | dark eye, white eyelids | Heavy, elongated gull with a black hood and a long orange-yellow bill with a black band and red tip; pale wing tip with only a narrow black line. |
 Caspian GullLarus cachinnans | 56–68 cm | Pink | White head | White | Yellow | Red spot | Black | Pale grey | dark eye, red ring | Long, slim bill, small dark eye and pale flesh-coloured legs; head white even in winter, with a long grey tongue on the outer primary. |
 Yellow-Legged GullLarus michahellis | 52–68 cm | Yellow | White head | White | Yellow | Red spot | Black | Medium grey | pale eye, red ring | Bright chrome-yellow legs, pale eye with a bright red ring, a mantle between Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gull; the head is already pure white in August. |
 Armenian GullLarus armenicus | 52–62 cm | Yellow | White head | White | Yellow, black band | Red spot | Black | Dark grey | dark eye, red ring | Darker than Yellow-legged Gull, with a broad black band near the bill tip and only one small mirror; dark eye with a red ring. |
 European Herring GullLarus argentatus | 54–60 cm | Pink | White head | Streaked | Yellow | Red spot | Black | Pale grey | pale eye, orange ring | The yardstick: pale grey mantle, flesh-coloured legs, a yellow bill with a red spot and a pale yellow eye in an orange-yellow ring. |
 Iceland GullLarus glaucoides | 52–60 cm | Pink | White head | Streaked | Greenish-yellow | Red spot | No black | Pale grey | pale eye, red ring | Like a small Glaucous Gull: white primaries, pink legs, a rounded head with a short bill and long wings. |
 Lesser Black-Backed GullLarus fuscus | 51–61 cm | Yellow | White head | Streaked | Yellow | Red spot | Black | Dark grey | pale eye, red ring | Slate-grey to almost black mantle with bright yellow legs; the black wing tip merges into the mantle, so there is little contrast. |
| Medium gulls | ||||||||||
 Ring-Billed GullLarus delawarensis vagrant | 43–54 cm | Yellow | White head | Streaked | Yellow, black band | None | Black | Pale grey | pale eye, red ring | A size larger than Common Gull, with a pale eye, red eye-ring and a yellow bill with a crisp black band; legs yellow to greenish-yellow. |
 Audouin's GullIchthyaetus audouinii | 44–52 cm | Black/olive-grey | White head | White | Red, black band | Red bill | Black | Pale grey | dark eye, red ring | Coral-red bill with a black band and pale tip on dark olive-grey legs; long, narrow wings and a soft, dove-like head. |
 Sooty GullIchthyaetus hemprichii | 43–48 cm | Greenish-yellow | Brown hood | Mask | Greenish-yellow, black band | Red spot | Black | Dark grey | dark eye, white eyelids | Chocolate-brown hood, brown breast band and a three-coloured bill: greenish-yellow with a black band and a red tip. |
 Ivory GullPagophila eburnea | 40–46 cm | Black/olive-grey | White head | White | Blue-grey | None | No black | White | dark eye, red ring | Entirely white adult with short black legs and a blue-grey bill with a yellow to orange tip. |
 Common GullLarus canus | 40–46 cm | Greenish-yellow | White head | Streaked | Greenish-yellow | None | Black | Medium grey | dark eye, red ring | Thin greenish-yellow bill without a red spot, dark eye and two large white mirrors in the black wing tip. |
 Slender-Billed GullChroicocephalus genei | 40–44 cm | Red | White head | White | Red | Red bill | Little black | Pale grey | pale eye, red ring | A white head without a hood all year, with a long, drooping dark-red bill and a pale eye; often a pinkish flush on the underparts. |
 White-Eyed GullIchthyaetus leucophthalmus | 39–45 cm | Yellow | Black hood | Mask | Red | Red bill | Black | Dark grey | dark eye, white eyelids | Slender gull with a jet-black hood, two crisp white eyelid marks and a long, thin dark-red bill with a black tip. |
 Black-Legged KittiwakeRissa tridactyla | 37–41 cm | Black/olive-grey | White head | Ear spot | Greenish-yellow | None | Black | Medium grey | dark eye, no conspicuous ring | Compact, short-legged gull with black legs, an unmarked greenish-yellow bill and a clean black wing tip without a white mirror. |
 Laughing GullLeucophaeus atricilla vagrant | 36–41 cm | Black/olive-grey | Black hood | Mask | Red | Red bill | Black | Dark grey | dark eye, white eyelids | Larger than Franklin's Gull, with a long, heavy, slightly decurved red bill; wing tip solid black with no white separation. |
 Black-Headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus | 35–39 cm | Red | Brown hood | Ear spot | Red | Red bill | Little black | Pale grey | dark eye, white eyelids | Chocolate-brown hood (not black) ending sharply at the back of the head, dark-red bill and legs, a white wedge along the leading edge of the hand. |
 Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalus | 36–38 cm | Red | Black hood | Mask | Red, black band | Red bill | No black | Pale grey | dark eye, white eyelids | Deep-black hood, broad white eyelids, a heavy coral-red bill with a black band and yellow tip; wing tip entirely white. |
| Small gulls | ||||||||||
 Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcan vagrant | 32–36 cm | Red | Black hood | Mask | Red | Red bill | Black | Dark grey | dark eye, white eyelids | Dark slate-grey mantle, black hood with broad white eyelids and a white band separating the grey from the black wing tip; bill and legs dark red. |
 Ross's GullRhodostethia rosea vagrant | 29–32 cm | Red | White head | Ear spot | Black | None | No black | Pale grey | dark eye, no conspicuous ring | Wedge-shaped tail, a small black bill and, in summer, a thin black neck collar and pink flush; underwing uniformly grey. |
 Sabine's GullXema sabini | 27–32 cm | Black/olive-grey | Grey hood | Mask | Black | None | Black | Medium grey | dark eye, red ring | Three sharply defined triangles on the upperwing (black, white, grey), a forked white tail and a black bill with a yellow tip. |
 Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphia vagrant | 28–30 cm | Red | Black hood | Ear spot | Black | None | Little black | Pale grey | dark eye, white eyelids | Small, slender hooded gull with a thin black bill; translucent white primaries from below. The legs turn flesh-coloured in winter. |
 Little GullHydrocoloeus minutus | 24–28 cm | Red | Black hood | Ear spot | Red | Red bill | No black | Pale grey | dark eye, no conspicuous ring | Tiny, with a black hood lacking white eyelid crescents; upperwing without black in the tip, underwing sooty-black. |
The features come from the species accounts in this guide, supplemented from standard field guides. Lengths are those on the species pages; the groups are a convenience, not a fixed classification.