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| Gulls and tern within the family Laridae vary in size. They are generally uniform in shape. Their tails are rounded in most gulls and forked in most terns. The bill in gulls is generally heavy and slightly hooked. Gulls are generalist feeders. Terns resemble gulls in many aspects, but have mostly thin and pointy bills, forked tails, and tiny feed used for limited walking. Tern are specialized on small fish they take from near the water surface by plunging into the water. The general pattern of plumage in adult gulls and terns is a white body with a darker mantle. | The extent to which the mantle is darker varies from pale grey to black. The plumage of the head in gulls and terns varies throughout the annual cycle. During the breeding season they generally have a dark-hooded gulls or cap in terns. During the non-breeding season the hood of cap maybe lost sometimes leaving a single spot behind the eye. There are 16 genera and 29 species of gulls and terns known to occur in Peru. Photo (left) Gray-hooded Gull. ©Geoff Gallice. Photo (right): Peruvian Tern ©Walter Romero. |
| Family LARIDAE | ||
| Gulls, Terns | Gaviotas, Gaviotines | |
| Swallow-tailed Gull | Gaviota Tijereta | Creagrus furcatus (NB) |
| Black-legged Kittiwake | Gaviota Tridáctila | Rissa tridactyla (V) |
| Sabine’s Gull | Gaviota de Sabine | Xema sabini (NB) |
| Andean Gull | Gaviota Andina | Chroicocephalus serranus |
| Brown-hooded Gull | Gaviota de Capucha Café | Chroicocephalus maculipennis (V) |
| Gray-hooded Gull | Gaviota de Capucha Gris | Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus |
| Gray Gull | Gaviota Gris | Leucophaeus modestus (NB) |
| Laughing Gull | Gaviota Reidora | Leucophaeus atricilla (NB) |
| Franklin’s Gull | Gaviota de Franklin | Leucophaeus pipixcan (NB) |
| Belcher’s (Band-tailed) Gull | Gaviota Peruana | Larus belcheri |
| Kelp Gull | Gaviota Dominicana | Larus dominicanus |
| Herring Gull | Gaviota Argéntea | Larus argentatus (V) |
| Black Noddy | Tiñosa Negra | Anous minutus (V) |
| White Tern | Gaviotín Blanco | Gygis alba |
| Sooty Tern | Gaviotín Oscuro | Onychoprion fuscatus (H) |
| Least Tern | Gaviotín Chico | Sternula antillarum (V) |
| Yellow-billed Tern | Gaviotín de Pico Amarillo | Sternula superciliaris |
| Peruvian Tern | Gaviotín Peruano | Sternula lorata |
| Large-billed Tern | Gaviotín de Pico Grande | Phaetusa simplex |
| Gull-billed Tern | Gaviotín de Pico Negro | Gelochelidon nilotica (NB) |
| Inca Tern | Gaviotín Zarcillo | Larosterna inca |
| Black Tern | Gaviotín Negro | Chlidonias niger (NB) |
| Common Tern | Gaviotín Común | Sterna hirundo (NB) |
| Arctic Tern | Gaviotín Artico | Sterna paradisaea (NB) |
| South American Tern | Gaviotín Sudamericano | Sterna hirundinacea |
| Snowy-crowned Tern | Gaviotín de Cabeza Blanca | Sterna trudeaui (V) |
| Elegant Tern | Gaviotín Elegante | Thalasseus elegans (NB) |
| Sandwich Tern | Gaviotín de Pata Negra | Thalasseus sandvicensis (NB) |
| Royal Tern | Gaviotín Real | Thalasseus maximus (NB) |
 STERCORARIIDAE: Skuas & Jaegers – Salteadores |
RHYNCHOPIDAE: Skimmers – Rayadores |