Little Tern
Sternula albifrons
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Caradriformes)
- FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
- GenusSternula (Small Terns)
- SpeciesSternula albifrons (Little Tern)
The little tern (Sternula albifrons) is a small seabird of the family Laridae. It is widely distributed breeding on the coasts and inland waterways of Europe, Asia, north and west Africa, and eastern Australia. It winters in the subtropical and tropical oceans as far south as South Africa and Australia. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Garden Route National Park
Dominican Gull
Larus dominicanus
Crested Tern
Thalasseus bergii
Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensis
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
Grey-hooded Gull
Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus
Caspian Tern
Hydroprogne caspia
Hartlaub's Gull
Chroicocephalus hartlaubii
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscus
Whiskered Tern
Chlidonias hybrida
White-winged Tern
Chlidonias leucopterus
Roseate Tern
Sterna dougallii
Blacksmith Lapwing
Vanellus armatus
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Little Tern at Garden Route National Park — 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