---
title: "Swallow-tailed Gull"
description: "Creagrus furcatus — Birds. The swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus) is an equatorial seabird in the gull family, Laridae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/swallow-tailed-gull
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Swallow-tailed Gull

> Creagrus furcatus — Birds. The swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus) is an equatorial seabird in the gull family, Laridae.

- Scientific name: *Creagrus furcatus*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 2840
- Wikidata: [Q1052818](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1052818)
- iNaturalist taxon: [4564](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4564)

## Names

- en: Swallow-tailed Gull
- de: Gabelschwanzmöwe
- es: Gaviota de las Galápagos
- fr: Mouette à queue fourchue
- nl: Zwaluwstaartmeeuw
- pt: Gaivota-rabo-de-andorinha
- pl: Mewa widłosterna

## Countries with the most observations

EC (2529), US (47), PE (16), CL (5)

## Summary

The swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus) is an equatorial seabird in the gull family, Laridae.  It is the only species in the genus Creagrus, which derives from the Latin Creagra and the Greek kreourgos which means butcher, also from kreas, meat; according to Jobling it would mean "hook for meat" referring to the hooked bill of this species. It was first described by French naturalist and surgeon Adolphe-Simon Neboux in 1846. Its scientific name is originally derived from the Greek word for gull, "Glaros" and via  Latin Larus, "gull" and furca "two-tined fork". It spends most of its life flying and hunting over…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallow-tailed_gull

## Photo

![Swallow-tailed Gull](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/swallow-tailed-gull/medium.jpg)

Photo: Kimball Garrett · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/260777705

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/swallow-tailed-gull?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).