Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of Japan
47 gulls, terns and skimmers recorded in Japan on the eBird network and profiled in the Birbs encyclopedia — the full list, with photos, sounds and ID notes, plus what's near you now.
47 gulls, terns and skimmers have been recorded in Japan on eBird, the global citizen-science database run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and carry a full profile in the Birbs encyclopedia. Every bird below is a member of this group — the family Laridae. Start with the well-known species, browse the complete list, then check which are being reported near you right now.
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Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of Japan to know first
Aleutian TernOnychoprion aleuticus
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianus
Arctic TernSterna paradisaea
Black NoddyAnous minutus
Black TernChlidonias niger
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
Black-legged KittiwakeRissa tridactyla
Black-naped TernSterna sumatrana
Black-tailed GullLarus crassirostris
Blue-billed White TernGygis candida
Bonaparte’s GullChroicocephalus philadelphia
Bridled TernOnychoprion anaethetus
Brown NoddyAnous stolidus
Brown-headed GullChroicocephalus brunnicephalus
Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
Chinese Crested TernThalasseus bernsteini
Common GullLarus canus
Common TernSterna hirundo
The full list — 47 gulls, terns and skimmers of Japan in our library
- Aleutian Tern
- American Herring Gull
- Arctic Tern
- Black Noddy
- Black Tern
- Black-headed Gull
- Black-legged Kittiwake
- Black-naped Tern
- Black-tailed Gull
- Blue-billed White Tern
- Bonaparte’s Gull
- Bridled Tern
- Brown Noddy
- Brown-headed Gull
- Caspian Tern
- Chinese Crested Tern
- Common Gull
- Common Tern
- Franklin’s Gull
- Glaucous Gull
- Glaucous-winged Gull
- Greater Crested Tern
- Gull-billed Tern
- Iceland Gull
- Ivory Gull
- Laughing Gull
- Least Tern
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Little Gull
- Little Tern
- Mongolian Gull
- Pallas’s Gull
- Red-legged Kittiwake
- Ring-billed Gull
- Roseate Tern
- Ross’s Gull
- Sabine’s Gull
- Saunders’s Gull
- Short-billed Gull
- Silver Gull
- Slaty-backed Gull
- Slender-billed Gull
- Sooty Tern
- Vega Gull
- Western Gull
- Whiskered Tern
- White-winged Tern
Keep exploring
- Birds of Japan
- Ducks, Geese & Swans of Japan (57 species)
- Sandpipers & Allies of Japan (56 species)
- Old World Flycatchers & Chats of Japan (41 species)
- Hawks, Eagles & Kites of Japan (27 species)
- Petrels & Shearwaters of Japan (23 species)
- Herons, Egrets & Bitterns of Japan (20 species)
- Old World Buntings of Japan (19 species)
- Thrushes of Japan (19 species)
Gulls, Terns & Skimmers in other regions
- Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of the United States (61 species)
- Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of the United Kingdom (45 species)
- Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of Canada (43 species)
- Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of Portugal (42 species)
- Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of Spain (42 species)
- Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of France (41 species)
- Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of India (40 species)
- Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of Mexico (40 species)
- Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of Ireland (38 species)
- Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of Ecuador (37 species)
- Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of Australia (36 species)
- Gulls, Terns & Skimmers of Colombia (35 species)
Species and counts come from the eBird network; "recorded" means reported by birders to eBird. Family grouping follows the IOC World Bird List. Tap any bird for its full profile.
Frequently asked questions
How many gulls, terns and skimmers are found in Japan?
47 gulls, terns and skimmers that we profile appear on Japan's eBird-reported checklist. The full A–Z list is on this page; the real total can shift as eBird records are added.
Are all of these gulls, terns and skimmers really found there?
Yes — each one is on Japan's eBird checklist (reported by birders to the Cornell Lab's eBird), and each of these gulls, terns and skimmers belongs to the family group named on this page. We don't rank them by abundance, because that varies by season and locale.
Where can I see gulls, terns and skimmers in Japan right now?
Use Birds Near You for live, location-based reports, or turn on rare-bird alerts to hear when a notable one shows up close to you.