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Australian Terns are medium-sized terns. During the breeding season they have a black cap, white front (throat, neck, chest, belly and vent) and grey wings. The black eyes are surrounded by the black cap, while the frons (base of the bill) is also black. The stout bill is black, the (relatively long) legs and feet are also black. In eclipse the cap becomes mostly white, with grey patches remaining behind the eyes and some mottled black-and-white remaining at the back of the head. Juveniles are mottled grey, with a mottled cap and black eye patches.

Twitcher's tip

Compared to other, similar terns, the Australian Tern has the most massive black bill (hence its name).

Australian Terns have now been given full species status and are no longer considered to be race "macrotarsa" of the Gull-billed Tern.

In addition, both the Australian Tern and the Gull-billed Tern. have been moved from the genus "Sterna" into "Gelochelidon".

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Australian Tern is available HERE .

Australian Terns are found mostly on the Australian continent, but they are also present in New Guinea and westward to central Java, Indonesia. Australian Terns are also found in New Zealand.

Australian Terns breed only in Australia. They are most common along the coastline, in particular in QLD and along the Great Barrier Reef, but also inland, e.g. in the Murray-Darling Basin and in the Lake Eyre Basin. Apart from these locations their range is patchy; some may be found in the central NT and in western WA. After substantial inland rainfall they can disperse into all areas of the Australian continent, including the continent's major deserts. They are rare visitors to the Bass Strait and Tasmania as well.

Australian Terns can be found above coastal waters, but also in tidal flats and inland, in the shallows of freshwater lakes, including ephemeral lakes and ephemeral wetlands.

An Australian Tern was first spotted by us at Dangars Lagoon near Uralla, NSW, in November 2006.

Australian Terns were also spotted by us in the wetlands of Capricorn Resort, Yeppoon, in July 2009. Special access to the wetlands kindly granted by the owners of Capricorn Resort is most gratefully acknowledged.

Subsequently, a small number of Australian Terns was spotted by us at Goran Lake, an ephemeral lake about 30 km South of Gunnedah, NSW, in April 2011 and again in April 2012 and December 2012.

In June 2011 Australian Terns were also seen in a saltmarsh in the estuary of the Manning River near Old Bar, NSW.

Several birds were also seen by us on farm irrigation dams about 10 km North-West of Moree, NSW, in April 2012. The contributions to these observations by C. Hayne and A. Lines are most gratefully acknowledged.

C. Hayne reports that Australian Terns are the most common tern in the Moree area. They are seen all year round above farm irrigation dams and all types of natural wetlands. Sometimes they are seen together with Whiskered Terns and Caspian Terns.

Australian Terns were also spotted by us at Lake Altiboulka, in far western NSW, about 95 km east of Tibooburra, in September 2012.

An Australian Tern was first spotted by us at Narrabri Lake in August 2013.

Australian Terns in non-breeding plumage were next seen at Barambah Dam, QLD, in June 2017.

M. Eaton reports spotting Australian Terns in non-breeding plumage at South West Rocks, NSW, in July 2017, and at Old Bar, NSW, in December 2019. They were also found at Tannum Sands, Gladstone, QLD, in June 2021. Another was located at Bribie Island, QLD, in August 2021. In December 2023, M. Eaton found Australian Terns at the Stockton Sandspit, Hunter Wetlands NP. A mob of about 35 Australian Terns was found by M. Eaton at Cuttaburra Crossing, near Bedourie, QLD, in July 2026.

In October 2020, a small flock of 10 Australian Terns was found by us at Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW.

C. Pears found an Australian Tern at the Broome Bird Observatory, Broome, WA, in June 2025.