Ross's Gull Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesRoss's Gull
Breeding adult
Small gull with short, slender black bill, rounded head, and pale gray wings. Breeding adults have a thin black necklace or collar and pink wash to underparts (can be faint).
© PC Smith / Macaulay LibraryNunavut, August 16, 2011Nonbreeding adult
Small gull with small black bill and rounded head. Nonbreeding adults have dark spot behind the ear, smudge around eyes, and pinkish wash to underparts. Wings are uniform pale gray with gray wingtips. Legs are red.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, January 12, 2017Breeding adult
Small gull with short bill and wedge-shaped or diamond-shaped tail. Adults have pale gray wings all the way to the wingtips, with broad white trailing edges.
© Tom Johnson / Macaulay LibraryManitoba, June 10, 2008First winter
Small gull with short bill and wedge-shaped tail. Immatures have bold blackish M on the upperwings, dark spot behind eye, and dark tip to the tail.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryNew York, January 29, 2017First winter
Small gull with gray underwing and broad white trailing edge. Immatures have a dark spot behind eye, dark pattern on upperwing, and dark tip to tail.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryNew York, January 29, 2017Breeding adult with Sabine's Gulls
Typically occurs along coastlines and mudflats of the high Arctic; but very rarely, some individuals stray south of the Arctic Circle.
© PC Smith / Macaulay LibraryNunavut, August 16, 2011Similar SpeciesBonaparte's Gull
Nonbreeding adult
Nonbreeding Bonaparte's Gulls have flashy white triangles in the outer wing and a squared-off tail, unlike Ross's pale gray upperwing and wedge-shaped tail.
© Caleb Putnam / Macaulay LibraryMichigan, November 27, 2016Similar SpeciesBonaparte's Gull
Nonbreeding adult
On the ground, nonbreeding Bonaparte's Gulls have dark wingtips, unlike the pale wingtips of adult Ross's Gulls.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, November 03, 2016Similar SpeciesBonaparte's Gull
First winter
Bonaparte's Gulls are more slender than Ross's Gulls, with a longer bill.
© Brandon Holden / Macaulay LibraryOntario, November 08, 2005Similar SpeciesBonaparte's Gull
Juvenile
Juvenile Bonaparte's Gulls have a less bold M pattern on the wings and a squared-off tail compared to young Ross's Gulls.
© Brandon Holden / Macaulay LibraryOntario, August 06, 2007Similar SpeciesSabine's Gull
Nonbreeding adult
Sabine's Gulls have a bold upperwing pattern of black triangles in the forewing and a white triangle along the trailing edge—unlike either adult Ross's uniform gray back or the immature's thin black M pattern.
© Chris Wood / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, September 16, 2015Similar SpeciesSabine's Gull
Juvenile
Sabine's Gull has a squared or slightly forked tail; Ross's Gull has a wedge shaped tail with longer central tail feathers.
© Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren / Macaulay LibraryMissouri, October 02, 2016Similar SpeciesSabine's Gull
Juvenile
Juvenile Sabine's Gulls have a heavier bill than Ross's Gulls, and with the wings folded they show less white toward the wingtips than juvenile Ross's.
© Matthew Pendleton / Macaulay LibraryUtah, September 30, 2016Similar SpeciesLittle Gull
Nonbreeding adult
Little Gulls are smaller than Ross's Gulls with a squared-off tail. Nonbreeding adult Little has a dark cap and ear spot that adult Ross's lacks; and it lacks the M pattern in the wings of immature Ross's.
© Brandon Holden / Macaulay LibraryOntario, November 08, 2005Similar SpeciesLittle Gull
First summer
First-summer Little Gulls are smaller than Ross's Gulls with a squared-off tail, unlike Ross's wedge-shaped tail.
© Yann Kolbeinsson / Macaulay LibraryNorðurland eystraRotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers(Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Laridae)
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