List of Birds of Ecuador - Gulls and Terns

Gulls and Terns

Order: Charadriiformes. Family: Laridae

Laridae is a family of medium to large birds seabirds and includes gulls, kittiwakes, and terns. They are typically grey 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 sea-birds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species now known to live in excess of 25 to 30 years.

• Belcher's Gull Larus belcheri
• Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
• Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus
• Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
• Herring Gull Larus argentatus
• Gray-hooded Gull Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus
• Andean Gull Chroicocephalus serranus
• Gray Gull Leucophaeus modestus
• Lava Gull Leucophaeus fuliginosus (E)
• Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
• Franklin's Gull Leucophaeus pipixcan
• Sabine's Gull Xema sabini
• Swallow-tailed Gull Creagrus furcatus (essentially E; a few pairs breed in Colombia)
• Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
• Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
• Elegant Tern Thalasseus elegans
• Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis
• Royal Tern Thalasseus maxima
• South American Tern Sterna hirundinacea
• Common Tern Sterna hirundo
• Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea
• Least Tern Sternula antillarum
• Yellow-billed Tern Sternula superciliaris
• Peruvian Tern Sternula lorata
• Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus
• Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus
• Black Tern Chlidonias niger
• Large-billed Tern Phaetusa simplex
• Brown Noddy Anous stolidus
• White Tern Gygis alba
• Inca Tern Larosterna inca