Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaea

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Cordats)
ClassAves (Aus)
OrderCharadriiformes (Caradriformes)
FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
GenusSterna (Typical Terns)
SpeciesSterna paradisaea (Arctic Tern)

Insufficient data

overall probability at Table Mountain National Park

2 Verified records at Table Mountain National Park

☀️ Diurnal When it's active during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

The Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and subarctic regions of Europe (as far south as Brittany), Asia, and North America (as far south as Massachusetts). The species is strongly migratory, seeing two summers each year as it migrates along a convoluted route from its northern breeding grounds to the Antarctic coast for the southern summer and back again about six months later. Recent studies have shown average annual round-trip lengths of about 70,900 km (38,300 nmi) for birds nesting in Iceland and Greenland, and about 48,700 km (26,300 nmi) for birds nesting in the Netherlands, while an individual from the Farne Islands in Northumberland with a light level geolocator tag covered a staggering 96,000 km (52,000 nmi) in ten months from the end of one breeding season to the start of the next. These are by far the longest migrations known in the animal kingdom. Arctic terns are medium-sized birds. Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Table Mountain National Park

Sterna hirundo

5–10% · With luck

Sterna vittata

<5% · Rare

Larus dominicanus

40–50% · Likely

Chroicocephalus hartlaubii

30–40% · Possible

Thalasseus bergii

20–30% · Possible

Thalasseus sandvicensis

5–10% · With luck

Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus

<5% · Rare

Hydroprogne caspia

<5% · Rare

Chlidonias leucopterus

Insufficient data

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Insufficient data

Thalasseus elegans

Insufficient data

Chlidonias hybrida

<5% · Rare

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

📅 Monthly Probability

📊

Fewer than 5 records of Arctic Tern at Table Mountain National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.

☀️ When They're Spotted

Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)

☀️Diurnal

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

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Probability
1	Thingvellir National Park	🇮🇸 Iceland	60–70%
2	Vatnajokull National Park	🇮🇸 Iceland	50–60%
3	Katmai National Park	🇺🇸 United States	20–30%
4	Nahanni National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	10–20%
5	Gates of the Arctic National Park	🇺🇸 United States	10–20%
6	Kenai Fjords National Park	🇺🇸 United States	5–10%
7	Wrangell-St. Elias National Park	🇺🇸 United States	5–10%
8	Kluane National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	5–10%
9	Wadden Sea National Park	🇩🇪 Germany	<5%
10	Channel Islands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
11	Gros Morne National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
12	Acadia National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
13	Great Bear Rainforest	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
14	Snowdonia National Park	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	<5%
15	Galápagos Islands	🇪🇨 Ecuador	<5%
16	Denali National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
17	Pacific Rim National Park Reserve	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
18	Olympic National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
19	Fertő-Hanság National Park	🇭🇺 Hungary	Insufficient data
20	Namib-Naukluft National Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	Insufficient data
21	Isla del Coco National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
22	iSimangaliso Wetland Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
23	Redwood National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
24	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
25	Cairngorms National Park	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	Insufficient data
26	Table Mountain National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
27	Point Pelee National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	Insufficient data

← Back to Table Mountain National Park

Arctic Tern

Closest Relatives at Table Mountain National Park

Common Tern

Antarctic Tern

Dominican Gull

Hartlaub's Gull

Crested Tern

Sandwich Tern

Grey-hooded Gull

Caspian Tern

White-winged Tern

Black-headed Gull

Elegant Tern

Whiskered Tern

📅 Monthly Probability

☀️ When They're Spotted

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found