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Common Tern

Sterna hirundo ORDER: CHARADRIIFORMES FAMILY: LARIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

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Common Tern Photo

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

A graceful, black-and-white waterbird, the Common Tern is the most widespread tern in North America. It can be seen plunging from the air into water to catch small fish along rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Inside Birding
For complete information on this species, visit The Birds of North America Online.

Appearance

Gull-like
Gull-like
Typical Voice

Adult Description

  • Medium-sized tern.
  • White with black cap.
  • Tail long and deeply forked.
  • Wings white with dark tips.

Immature Description

Juvenile with brownish head, and brown bars across back. Immature resembles winter adult, but has even darker primaries.

Range Map Help

Common Tern Range Map
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Similar Species

  • No other small tern shows the dark wedge in the spread primaries.
  • Forster's Tern similar, but has longer, brighter orange legs, more orange bill with more extensive black tip, whiter wings and belly, paler back, longer tail, a white leading edge to the wings in breeding plumage, and black restricted to small mask around eye and ear in winter.
  • Roseate Tern much paler, with long white tail streamers, less dark in wings, and usually an all-dark bill.
  • Arctic Tern very similar, but has shorter legs, very little black in wings, darker gray underparts, uniform dark red bill, and longer tail.