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10

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) Size: 31-35 cm; wing span 77-98 cm Weight: 110-140 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Common Terns are medium-sized terns. During the breeding season they have a black cap that encompasses the eyes and extends well onto the nape of the neck, a white front (throat, neck, chest, belly and vent) and grey wings. The chest and belly can be light-grey. When folded, the wings, which have conspicuous black tips, are the same length as the tail. The tail is forked. The slender bill of race "longipennis" found in Australia is black, while nominate race "hirundo" has a red bill with a black tip. The short legs and feet are black (sometimes reddish). In eclipse the front of the head becomes white, with a mottled black-and-white front part of the remaining smaller black cap. Juvenile birds have dark leading and trailing edges to their wings. Otherwise they resemble non-breeding adults. Twitcher's tip Compared to White-fronted Terns, the Common Tern has darker wing tips. Note that second-year Common Terns are very similar to second-year White-fronted Terns.

Taxonomy, classification See Common Tern at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range 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 Common Tern is available HERE . Common Terns are a global, strongly migratory species. There are four races, which populate parts of all continents, except Antarctica. Nominate race "hirundo" breeds in Europe, from Bretagne and western England eastwards, in small areas of coastal North Africa (although not elsewhere in the Mediterranean), in Arabia and in western and central Asia, as far East as western Siberia and Kazakhstan. They are also found in Canada, East of the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic coastline down to about the Carolinas. Race "minussensis" has a limited breeding range, from Lake Baikal eastwards to northern Mongolia and southern Tibet. The North American population winters along the coastlines of tropical central America and of South America, except the southern Chilean coastline. The European and western Asian population migrates to the coastlines of Africa, from the equator to Cape Hoorn. Race "tibetana" breeds from the Himalayas to southern Mongolia and China. They migrate to the coastlines of southern Pakistan and north-western India and the East coast of India (including Sri Lanka) and Bangladesh. Race "longipennis" breeds in an area from central Siberia to China; they can also be found in parts of Alaska. This race spends the northern winters in large parts of coastal south-eastern Asia and in Australia. Common Terns, race "longipennis" migrate to Australia from the North and populate large parts of the Australian seaboard and continental shelf. They are primarily non-breeding migrants. In addition to the entire North coast, they go as far as about Carnarvon, WA, in the West. Along the East coast they can migrate all the way to the South of the continent, including Bass Strait and the East coast of Tasmania. Along the South coast the limit of their range is in the area of Adelaide, SA. They are not found anywhere inland. Nominate race "hirundo" is reported in Australia only occasionally. Common Terns can often be found above coastal waters, and on beaches and coastal rockfaces.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "longipennis" We spotted a single Common Tern, race "longipennis", off Wybung Head, Munmorah SCA, near Budgewoi, NSW, in June 2009. A small flock of about 30 Common Terns, race "longipennis", was seen by us at Bundjalung NP near Iluka, northern NSW, in February 2012. R. Plumtree reports spotting Common Terns, race "longipennis", at Hollands Landing, Lake Victoria, East Gippsland, VIC, in October 2014. M. Eaton reports finding Common Terns, race "longipennis", at Noosa, QLD, in December 2017, at Caloundra Headland, QLD, in January 2018, and at Flat Rock, Ballina, NSW, in February 2019. Race "hirundo" Common Terns, nominate race "hirundo", were spotted by us in Oman. Common Terns, nominate race "hirundo", have also been found by us in Europe.

Photos

Race "longipennis"

ADULT

Sex unknown

NON-BREEDING

Near-frontal view of a Common Tern in non-breeding plumage
[Bundjalung NP, NSW, February 2012]

Close-up lateral view of a Common Tern in non-breeding plumage; note the prominent darker-grey carpal bar on the upperwing (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Flat Rock, Ballina, NSW, February 2019]

Lateral view of a Common Tern in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Old Bar, NSW, February 2018]

Lateral view of a Common Tern in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Old Bar, NSW, February 2018]

Lateral view of two Common Terns in non-breeding plumage
[Bundjalung NP, NSW, February 2012]

The same Common Terns as shown above, now with their heads turned away
[Bundjalung NP, NSW, February 2012]

Lateral view of Common Terns in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Caloundra Headland, QLD, January 2018]

Lateral view of two preening Common Terns in non-breeding plumage behind two Little Terns (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Caloundra Headland, QLD, January 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Common Tern (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Noosa, QLD, December 2017]

One Common Tern preening, another resting and the third just looking ahead...
[Bundjalung NP, NSW, February 2012]

Small group of Common Terns on a rockshelf; the bird near the centre gives an almost frontal view
[Bundjalung NP, NSW, February 2012]

Common Terns resting on a beach (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Noosa, QLD, December 2017]

Lateral view of Common Terns in non-breeding plumage; for direct comparison there are two Greater Crested Terns in the foreground (adult) and on the left (immature)
[Lee Point beach, Darwin, NT, August 2014]

Small flock of Common Terns in non-breeding plumage engaged in various activities
[Bundjalung NP, NSW, February 2012]

Another part of the same small flock of Common Terns, but with one interloper - who can spot the odd one out?
[Bundjalung NP, NSW, February 2012]

Common Tern in flight
[Off Wybung Head, Munmorah SCA, NSW, June 2009]

Different phase of the wingbeat
[Off Wybung Head, Munmorah SCA, NSW, June 2009]

Common Tern, bottom, with deeply forked tail, in comparison with a Little Tern, top (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Old Bar, NSW, February 2018]

Common Terns in comparison with Little Terns (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Old Bar, NSW, February 2018]

Common Tern, bottom left, with deeply forked tail, in comparison with a Little Tern, top right (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Old Bar, NSW, February 2018]

Race "hirundo"

A Common Tern, nominate race "hirundo", was photographed by us in Oman.

More Common Tern photos of nominate race "hirundo" are available from Europe.

Food, Diet

Like most terns, Common Terns feed on fish, which they catch with their bills just under the water surface in a steep high-speed dive from considerable height.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

comtern_jp_20190717.m4a	hirundo (Portugal)	?	© JP
comtern_jp_20190717_2.m4a	hirundo (Portugal)	?	© JP

More Common Tern sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Tue, 17 August 2021, 9:14 +00:00