GULLS and TERNS OF THE WORLD

Many years ago, when I first started birding abroad, I set myself a target to see all the gull species in the world, primarily as a focus in deciding where to travel. This is because they are one of only a few bird families which breed on every continent. I achieved my aim several years ago, although there are one or two which I haven't managed a decent photograph of, such as the newly-split Short-billed Gull; two of the most attractive gulls I've only seen as vagrants to Britain, namely Ivory and Ross's, but both have occured here in breeding plumage. Some of the photos are only digitised slides, so quality varies, but I often update where I've got a better shot.
Obviously Ann and I have co-incidentally seen most terns as well, so I've included these. Gull taxonomy seems to be in a permanent state of flux, I believe I have seen all potential future splits, but the total number has increased by at least five species since I started my quest. The taxonomic order has also changed, with several new genera, currently this page follows the new Avilist, and this is reflected in the latest update, July 2025.