One of the 6 terns on WAnimals
Birds · Charadriiformes · Laridae
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
A 19-year study in Massachusetts showed that, contrary to the usual reproductive senescence, older birds do not breed any less well, because they feed more efficiently.
Weight
90 g – 150 g
Size
31 cm – 39 cm
Lifespan
10 years
Diet
Piscivore
Feeds mainly on fish.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Colony
Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- alimentaciónIt can plunge from several metres up to snatch small fish just below the surface.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Coasts, islands and wetlands of temperate and subarctic Europe, Asia and North America
- Birth weight
- 1.25 grams
- Size at birth
- Precocial and, by some accounts, able to swim shortly after hatching, though still dependent on its parents for food
- Sexual maturity
- 3 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 21-26 days
- Litter / clutch size
- 2 to 3 eggs per clutch
Sources consulted: AnAge; Via Pontica; PubMed; Animalia.bio; Animal Diversity Web; American Ornithological Society; Massachusetts government wildlife fact sheet
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapWhere to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Common Tern — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Great Black-backed Gull
Larus marinus
Black-headed Gull
Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Yellow-legged Gull
Larus michahellis
Herring Gull
Larus argentatus
Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensis
Little Tern
Sternula albifrons
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about common tern.
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