Gulls, Terns and Skimmers
Order: Charadriiformes. Family: Laridae
Laridae is a family of medium to large birds seabirds and includes gulls, kittiwakes, terns, and skimmers. They are typically gray or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally general medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects of the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species now known to live in excess of 25–30 years. Skimmers are a small family of tropical tern-like birds. They have an elongated lower mandible which they use to feed flying low over the water surface and skimming the water for small fish.
- Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
- Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus (A)
- Herring Gull, Larus argentatus (A)
- Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus (A)
- Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus (A)
- Bonaparte's Gull, Chroicocephalus philadelphia (A)
- Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla
- Franklin's Gull, Leucophaeus pipixcan (A)
- Little Gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus (A)
- Sabine's Gull, Xema sabini (A)
- Black-legged Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla (A)
- Gull-billed Tern, Gelochelidon nilotica (A)
- Caspian Tern, Hydroprogne caspia (A)
- Sandwich Tern, Thalasseus sandvicensis
- Royal Tern, Thalasseus maxima
- Roseate Tern, Sterna dougallii
- Common Tern, Sterna hirundo
- Arctic Tern, Sterna paradisaea (A)
- Forster's Tern, Sterna forsteri (A)
- Least Tern, Sternula antillarum
- Bridled Tern, Onychoprion anaethetus
- Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscata
- White-winged Tern, Chlidonias leucopterus (A)
- Black Tern, Chlidonias niger
- Black Noddy, Anous minutus (A)
- Brown Noddy, Anous stolidus
- Black Skimmer, Rynchops niger (A)
Read more about this topic: Birds Of Puerto Rico