Gulls,Terns and Skimmers

The family Laridae is a large with strong wings and powerful flight.Some species are largely pelagic;others frequent coastal waters or inland lakes and wetlands.Gulls take from about 2 to 4 years to reach adult plumage;immatures are often variable and are hard to identify.In general,male gulls are larger than females.There are 50 species of Laridae that inhabit North America.Terns are distinguished from gulls by long pointed wings,bill and by feeding technique.Most terns plunge-dive into the water after prey,primarily small fish.Most species have a forked tail.

Species of Laridae native to North America
Gulls Terns
 * Black-legged Kittiwake
 * Red-legged Kittiwake
 * Sabine's Gull
 * Ivory Gull
 * Little Gull
 * Bonaparte's Gull
 * Black-headed Gull
 * Ross's Gull
 * Franklin's Gull
 * Laughing Gull
 * Heermann's Gull
 * Black-tailed Gull (from East Asia)
 * Belcher's Gull (from west coast of South America)
 * Mew Gull
 * Ring-billed Gull
 * California Gull
 * Herring Gull
 * Yellow-legged Gull
 * Iceland Gull
 * Thayer's Gull
 * Glaucous Gull
 * Glaucous-winged Gull
 * Western Gull
 * Yellow-footed Gull (breeds in The Gulf of California)
 * Slaty-backed Gull
 * Kelp Gull
 * Lesser Black-backed Gull
 * Greater Black-backed Gull
 * Brown Noddy
 * Black Noddy
 * Bridled Tern
 * Sooty Tern
 * Aleutian Tern
 * Least Tern
 * Black Tern
 * White-winged Tern
 * Common Tern
 * Arctic Tern
 * Forster's Tern
 * Roseate Tern
 * Gull-billed Tern
 * Large-billed Tern (South American freshwater species)
 * Sandwich Tern
 * Caspian Tern
 * Royal Tern
 * Elegant Tern
 * Black Skimmer