Bonaparte's Gull
Bonaparte's GullBonaparte's GullBonaparte's GullBonaparte's Gull

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Saguaro National Park
34 Verified sightings at Saguaro National Park From 2019 to 2026
15,199 Verified sightings across all 42 parks From 2019 to 2026
February Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Bonaparte's Gull

Bonaparte's gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) is a gull found mainly in northern North America. At 28 to 38 cm (11 to 15 in) in length, it is one of the smallest species of gull. Its plumage is mainly white with grey upperparts. During breeding season, Bonaparte's gull gains a slaty-black hood. The sexes are similar in appearance.

When George Ord first described Bonaparte's gull in 1815, he gave it the scientific name Sterna philadelphia, and the English name 'Banded-tail Tern'; the description clearly identifies it as a bird in first-winter plumage, while "The slender and tern-like form of the bill probably induced Mr. Ord to put it in Sterna". Most later taxonomists assigned it to the genus Larus, a longtime catch-all for most of the gull species. However, in 1858, George Newbold Lawrence moved the species to the genus Chroicocephalus, and some taxonomists followed suit. Subsequent molecular DNA studies have shown that this species fits neatly into a clade with other Chroicocephalus "hooded" gulls, and that it is in a close-to-basal position in that grouping. Based on these studies, the American Ornithologists' Union, which had previously assigned the... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Saguaro National Park

Sabine's Gull
LC

Sabine's Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Xema sabini

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Elegant Tern
NT

Elegant Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Thalasseus elegans

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Black-legged Kittiwake
VU

Black-legged Kittiwake

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Rissa tridactyla

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Arctic Tern
LC

Arctic Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sterna paradisaea

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Ring-billed Gull
LC

Ring-billed Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus delawarensis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Iceland Gull
LC

Iceland Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus glaucoides

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Forster's Tern
LC

Forster's Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sterna forsteri

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Heermann's Gull
NT

Heermann's Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus heermanni

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Franklin's Gull

Franklin's Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Leucophaeus pipixcan

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
California Gull
LC

California Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus californicus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Least Tern
LC

Least Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sternula antillarum

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Killdeer
NT

Killdeer

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Charadrius vociferus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Point Pelee National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~50%
2 Katmai National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
3 Elk Island National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
4 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
5 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
6 Wood Buffalo National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
7 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
8 Kluane National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
9 Kenai Fjords National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
10 Cabo Pulmo National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
11 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
12 Riding Mountain National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
13 Acadia National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
14 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
15 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
16 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
17 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
18 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
19 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
20 Bahía de Loreto National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
21 Cape Breton Highlands National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
22 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
23 Jasper National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
24 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
25 Shenandoah National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
26 Ciénaga de Zapata 🇨🇺 Cuba
<5%
27 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
28 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
29 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
30 Nahanni National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
Insufficient data
31 Isla del Coco National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
32 Voyageurs National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
33 Isle Royale National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
34 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
35 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
36 Big Cypress National Preserve 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
37 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
38 Las Baulas Marine National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
39 Badlands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
40 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
41 Vatnajokull National Park 🇮🇸 Iceland
Insufficient data
42 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Bonaparte's Gull in Saguaro National Park?

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bonaparte's Gull sighting in Saguaro National Park, based on 34 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Bonaparte's Gull in Saguaro National Park?

February has the highest sighting rate for Bonaparte's Gull in Saguaro National Park in our monthly data.

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