Birds of the World

    CHARADRIIFORMES: Laridae (Gulls, Terns, Skimmers)  
Genus: Sternula (7 species)


Little Tern
Little Tern (Sternula albifrons)
Range: AF, PAL, OR, AU: w Europe, sw Russia, c Asia, Mongolia to se Russia, Japan, e China, Taiwan and Vietnam; n, w Africa; Persian Gulf and Iraq to Indus Valley (Pakistan) and Gangetic Plain (nc India); Sri Lanka; Gulf of Thailand, Malay Pen., Singapore, and islands off Greate
Laem Phak Bia, Ban Laem, Phetchaburi, Thailand  
 
Photograph by JJ Harrison     Copyright and usage info

Little Tern
Little Tern (Sternula albifrons)
Range: AF, PAL, OR, AU: w Europe, sw Russia, c Asia, Mongolia to se Russia, Japan, e China, Taiwan and Vietnam; n, w Africa; Persian Gulf and Iraq to Indus Valley (Pakistan) and Gangetic Plain (nc India); Sri Lanka; Gulf of Thailand, Malay Pen., Singapore, and islands off Greate
Little Swanport, Tasmania, Australia  
 
Photograph by JJ Harrison     Copyright and usage info


Least Tern
Least Tern (Sternula antillarum antillarum)
Range: NA, MA: Great Plains to Texas and n Louisiana; c California and Gulf of California coasts to Oaxaca (w Mexico), El Salvador and Nicaragua; w North Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea from Bahamas to Lesser Antilles, islands off
Green Cay Nature Center, Delray Beach, Florida, USA
  The smallest tern, unmistakable because of its size, also has a distinctive bill.
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Least Tern
Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) Immature
Range: NA, MA: Great Plains to Texas and n Louisiana; c California and Gulf of California coasts to Oaxaca (w Mexico), El Salvador and Nicaragua; w North Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea from Bahamas to Lesser Antilles, islands off
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


View image by Graham Searll on BirdPhotos.com
Damara Tern (Sternula balaenarum)
Range: AF: coastal s Angola, Namibia and South Africa
 



Peruvian Tern
Peruvian Tern (Sternula lorata) Endangered
Range: SA: coasts c Ecuador to n Chile
Chile  
   
Photograph by Cristián Pinto     Copyright and usage info


Fairy Tern
Fairy Tern (Sternula nereis nereis) Vulnerable
Range: AU: w to se Australia, n North I. (New Zealand) and New Caledonia
Little Swanport, Tasmania, Australia  
 
Photograph by JJ Harrison     Copyright and usage info


No Image
Saunders's Tern (Sternula saundersi)
Range: AF, PAL: islands of Red Sea and Persian Gulf, off Somalia and Socotra, patchily to coast of Pakistan, nw India, and Adam's Bridge is. (between India and Sri Lanka)
 



Yellow-billed Tern
Yellow-billed Tern (Sternula superciliaris)
Range: SA: large rivers of ne Peru, n, c Colombia, n Venezuela and Guianas to ec Argentina
Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Yellow-billed Tern
Yellow-billed Tern (Sternula superciliaris)
Range: SA: large rivers of ne Peru, n, c Colombia, n Venezuela and Guianas to ec Argentina
Ecuador
  Immature or non-breeding plumage.
   
Photograph by George Cruz (San Jorge Eco-Lodges)   © All Rights Reserved.

Much smaller than the other Amazonian tern, the Large-billed Tern. Note black extending from eye to bill.


© Tom Friedel - All Rights Reserved, except for images and data otherwise noted.       Colombia       Panama       Ecuador       Costa Rica       Mexico
Experimental sites:       Peru       Venezuela       The World       Brazil       Bolivia
Really Experimental sites:       Guyana       Cuba