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Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) German name(s): "Raubseeschwalbe" Size: 48-60 cm; wing span: 1.25-1.45 m Body mass: 530-780 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: ca. 1.0

Europe: Family Group 10 Family Group 10 Table Great Skua Arctic Skua Pomarine Skua Caspian Gull Great Black-backed Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull American Herring Gull European Herring Gull Yellow-legged Gull Audouin's Gull Slender-billed Gull Iceland Gull Common Gull Ring-billed Gull Black-headed Gull Bonaparte's Gull Mediterranean Gull Little Gull Sabine's Gull Black-legged Kittiwake Caspian Tern Sandwich Tern Gull-billed Tern Common Tern Arctic Tern Little Tern Forster's Tern Whiskered Tern Black Tern White-winged Black Tern Atlantic Puffin Razorbill Common Guillemot Black Guillemot Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Caspian Terns are the largest of all 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 white. The pointy, long bill is red with a black tip, the short legs and feet are black. In eclipse the cap becomes mottled black-and-white and only a stripe behind the eyes remains solid dark-grey to black. Juvenile Caspian Terns have mottled grey upperparts, with a mottled cap.

Taxonomy, classification See Caspian 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 Caspian Tern is available HERE . Caspian Terns are a partly migratory species with a wide-ranging distribution. Populations breeding around large inland lakes and the coastlines of northern-hemisphere continents (North America, Europe, Asia) are migratory. The northern American birds migrate southwards in winter, to the southern coasts of North America, the West Indies and northern South American coastlines. The European and Asian populations spend the winter along the tropical and subtropical coastlines of Africa, southern Asia and Arabia. The populations breeding in Africa and Australasia are resident or locally dispersive, but do not migrate. In Europe Caspian Terns are found as summer breeding migrants from the South to their breeding grounds along the northern coastal fringes of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and along the coastline of the northern Baltic Sea, from southern Sweden via Finland to the Baltic states. En route they can be found in various parts, in particular the Mediterranean, but also along the Atlantic coastline and along their migration routes across the continent from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea. Caspian 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.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Pires reports finding Caspian Terns occasionally in estuaries and other coastal habitats during the non-breeding season and while on migration (typically from October to April) in southern/central Portugal. Locations where the species is found are, e.g., the Tejo estuary, and the Sado estuary, Setubal, Portugal. Another was found at Castro Marim, Algarve, Portugal, in October 2019. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires. Caspian Terns were also found by us in Australia.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Near-frontal view of a Caspian Tern in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sado estuary, Setubal, Portugal, April 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Caspian Tern in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sado estuary, Setubal, Portugal, April 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Caspian Tern in breeding plumage in flight, different phase of the wing beat (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sado estuary, Setubal, Portugal, April 2019]

NON-BREEDING

Frontal view of a Caspian Tern in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Ribeira das Enguias, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2020]

Near-frontal view of a Caspian Tern in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Marinha da Garganta, Faro, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Near-frontal view of a Caspian Tern in non-breeding plumage, left, with an immature bird on the right
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Marinha da Garganta, Faro, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Near-lateral view of a Caspian Tern in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Marinha da Garganta, Faro, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Lateral view of a Caspian Tern in non-breeding plumage in flight - wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, February 2023]

Lateral view of a Caspian Tern in non-breeding plumage in flight - wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, February 2023]

Near-dorsal view of a Caspian Tern in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Ribeira das Enguias, Tejo estuary, Portugal, February 2023]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal view of an immature Caspian Tern on the right, with an adult in non-breeding plumage
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Marinha da Garganta, Faro, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Near-lateral view of a first-winter immature Caspian Tern note the sparse scalloping on the upperwing feathers
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Marinha da Garganta, Faro, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Photos of Caspian Terns were also taken by us in Australia.

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Migratory/nomadic

Elementary unit: Solitary/mob

Caspian Terns are found as summer breeding migrants around the Baltic Sea and the North coasts of both Black Sea and Caspian Sea. Elsewhere, especially above inland rivers, they are on passage. Caspian Terns "cutting across" land to reach their breeding grounds is unlike, e.g., Sandwich Terns, which are also migratory, but will always follow the coastline to reach their destination.

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.

csptern_20231227.m4a	(NW NSW)	Contact call? (in-flight)	© MD
csptern_20231227_3.m4a	(NW NSW)	Contact calls? (in-flight)	© MD
csptern_me_20250808.m4a	(SW QLD)	Chasing off Whistling Kites (in-flight)	© ME
csptern_20231227_6.m4a	(NW NSW)	Various (in-flight)	© MD
csptern_me_20250808_2.m4a	(SW QLD)	Various (in-flight)	© ME

The calls in the recording below made several other species take to the air in alarm: Red-necked Avocet, Pied Stilt, Masked Lapwing, Silver Gull.

csptern_20231227_5.m4a

(NW NSW)

? (in-flight)

© MD

More Caspian 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.

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