Kebnat

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

Laridae · 27 species

In Québec, the family Laridae (order Charadriiformes) counts 27 species of birds. The stars? Ring-billed Gull, American Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull, the most often observed. The richest region: Côte-Nord, with 23 species. Every species has its own page: photos, its sounds, its season, its habitat and the best places to see it near you.

Species observed by region

Where do the observations come from?

  • Mostly iNaturalist : photos taken by people all over Québec, with the species confirmed by the community.
  • Other public sources : such as eBird for birds and the provincial forest inventories, gathered by GBIF, the global biodiversity data network.
  • What we keep : confirmed observations, with an exact position (not blurred to protect a rare species), that their author allows to be reused.
  • One place counts once : several observations of the same species at the same spot (within 11 m) count as one.
  • So our numbers are lower : than iNaturalist’s total. A region without observations does not mean the species does not live there.

Data downloaded in September 2026.

  1. Côte-Nord23
  2. Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine23
  3. Chaudière-Appalaches21
  4. Bas-Saint-Laurent20
  5. Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean20
  6. Capitale-Nationale20
  7. Montérégie20
  8. Montréal19
  9. Centre-du-Québec18
  10. Estrie17
  11. Outaouais17
  12. Mauricie15
  13. Abitibi-Témiscamingue15
  14. Laval13
  15. Lanaudière13
  16. Laurentides13
  17. Nord-du-Québec12

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers 27

Charadriiformes
All439Passeriformes181Charadriiformes80Anseriformes56Pelecaniformes18Accipitriformes15Galliformes13Strigiformes11Gruiformes9Piciformes9Columbiformes8Apodiformes5Falconiformes5Podicipediformes5Suliformes5Procellariiformes4Caprimulgiformes3Gaviiformes3Psittaciformes3Cathartiformes2Cuculiformes2Ciconiiformes1Coraciiformes1
Laridae
All80Scolopacidae35Laridae27Charadriidae7Alcidae6Stercorariidae3Recurvirostridae2
Ring-billed Gull56,431 observations
American Herring Gull33,284 observations
Great Black-backed Gull20,591 observations
Common Tern6,890 observations
Bonaparte's Gull5,577 observations
Iceland Gull5,527 observations
Glaucous Gull4,990 observations
Black-legged Kittiwake3,925 observations
Lesser Black-backed Gull2,065 observations
Black Tern1,485 observations
Caspian Tern1,473 observations
Arctic Tern661 observations
Black-headed Gull485 observations
Little Gull435 observations
Laughing Gull291 observations
Franklin's Gull232 observations
Sabine's Gull123 observations
Roseate Tern51 observations
Forster's Tern49 observations
Ross's Gull48 observations
Black Skimmer36 observations
Slaty-backed Gull25 observations
Mew Gull22 observations
Gull-billed Tern21 observations
Sandwich Tern21 observations
Short-billed Gull12 observations
Black-tailed Gull4 observations