Gulls & Terns

Around 100 species. Gulls are generalists: long-lived, slow to mature, and passing through several years of confusing immature plumages before reaching adult dress. Terns are lighter and longer-winged, and most plunge-dive for fish. Hybridisation is frequent among the large gulls, with several species pairs interbreeding extensively where their ranges meet, which keeps species limits in the group under permanent argument.