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10

Common Tern

(Sterna hirundo)
Alternate name(s): "Asiatic Common Tern", "European Common Tern",
"Black-billed Common Tern", "Western Common Tern", "Sea Swallow"
German name(s): "Flussseeschwalbe", "Flußseeschwalbe", "Fluß-Seeschwalbe"

Size: 31-35 cm; wing span 77-98 cm
Weight: 110-140 g

Similar
species

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

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Common Tern at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "hirundo"

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Frontal view of a Common Tern in breeding plumage on the ground; click on image to see a second bird in flight
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Naturschutzgebiet Wallnau/Fehmarn, Fehmarn, Germany, June 2018]

Lateral view of a Common Tern in breeding plumage; note the black-tipped red bill that is typical for this race
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Naturschutzgebiet Wallnau/Fehmarn, Fehmarn, Germany, June 2018]

Lateral view of a Common Tern in breeding plumage looking away from the observer (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Naturschutzgebiet Wallnau/Fehmarn, Fehmarn, Germany, June 2018]

Direct comparison between a Common Tern in breeding plumage, front, and a Common Gull, back
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Naturschutzgebiet Wallnau/Fehmarn, Fehmarn, Germany, June 2018]

NON-BREEDING

Near-frontal view of a Common Tern in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Praia do Penedo, Porto Santo, Portugal, November 2022]

Common Terns, race "hirundo", were also photographed by us in Oman.

Race "longipennis"

Common Terns, race "longipennis", were photographed by us in Australia.

Food, Diet

Like all terns, Common Terns feed on fish, which they catch with their bills just under the surface of water 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.