Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Caradriformes)
- FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
- GenusSterna (Typical Terns)
- SpeciesSterna hirundo (Common Tern)
The common tern (Sterna hirundo) is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. Breeding adults have light grey upperparts, white to very light grey underparts, a black cap, orange-red legs, and a narrow pointed bill. Depending on the subspecies, the bill may be mostly red with a black tip or all black. There are several similar species, including the partly sympatric Arctic tern, which can be separated on plumage details, leg and bill colour, or vocalisations. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Caroni Swamp
Large-billed Tern
Phaetusa simplex
Black Skimmer
Rynchops niger
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon nilotica
Laughing Gull
Leucophaeus atricilla
Least Tern
Sternula antillarum
Royal Tern
Thalasseus maximus
Spotted Sandpiper
Actitis macularius
Wattled Jacana
Jacana jacana
Southern Lapwing
Vanellus chilensis
Black-necked Stilt
Himantopus mexicanus
Solitary Sandpiper
Tringa solitaria
Greater Yellowlegs
Tringa melanoleuca
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Common Tern at Caroni Swamp — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there