Bird
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo · Laridae · Charadriiformes
Best monthsMay–Julmost records
Records3,003,472in 130 countries
Most seen inUnited States708,292 records
Red ListLeast concernIUCN status
About
Common Tern in brief
The common tern (Sterna hirundo) is a bird of the Laridae family — species of bird.
Across the 130 countries we cover it has 3,003,472 published records, most of them from the United States, Sweden and the Netherlands. It is strongly seasonal: records peak in May, June and July and fall to their lowest in February and December.
Its global conservation status is least concern on the IUCN Red List.
Records by month
All countries combined · the strongest months highlightedJFMAMJJASOND
Where & when
When to look in each country
United States708,292 records · best May, Aug
Sweden484,230 records · best May, Jul
Netherlands303,685 records · best May, Apr
Canada288,851 records · best May, Aug
Finland214,141 records · best May, Jun
United Kingdom184,185 records · best May, Jul
Denmark133,034 records · best Aug, Jul
Norway116,764 records · best May, Jun
France105,250 records · best May, Jun
Belgium55,623 records · best May, Jul
Spain49,112 records · best Sep, Jun
South Africa36,961 records · best Jan, Dec
Russia35,003 records · best May, Jun
Germany30,405 records · best May, Aug
Poland30,359 records · best Jun, Jul
Portugal26,858 records · best Sep, Aug
Estonia17,855 records · best May, Jul
Taiwan16,706 records · best May, Aug
Israel13,115 records · best Jul, Aug
Namibia12,823 records · best Nov, Jan
China11,312 records · best May, Jun
Czechia8,797 records · best May, Jul
Türkiye8,728 records · best May, Apr
Greece8,697 records · best May, Apr
Ireland7,634 records · best Aug, Jul
Ukraine7,081 records · best May, Aug
Italy6,548 records · best May, Jun
Thailand6,517 records · best Feb, Jan
Switzerland5,473 records · best May, Jun
Austria5,425 records · best May, Jul
Bulgaria4,965 records · best May, Sep
Romania4,664 records · best May, Aug
Mongolia3,816 records · best Jun, May
United Arab Emirates3,686 records · best Sep, Oct
Belarus3,085 records · best May, Jun
Hungary3,058 records · best May, Jul
Lithuania2,561 records · best May, Jun
Indonesia2,515 records · best Oct, Sep
Kazakhstan2,389 records · best May, Jun
Sri Lanka2,158 records · best Mar, Feb
Senegal1,984 records · best Apr, Jan
Slovenia1,814 records · best May, Jun
Croatia1,724 records · best May, Jul
Oman1,499 records · best Nov, Oct
Slovakia1,487 records · best May, Apr
Uruguay1,458 records · best Feb, Mar
Latvia1,339 records · best May, Jul
Japan1,110 records · best May, Sep
Philippines1,057 records · best Sep, Oct
Iran977 records · best May, Apr
Georgia906 records · best Sep, May
Serbia885 records · best May, Apr
Morocco811 records · best Apr, Sep
Luxembourg748 records · best May, Jul
Mozambique748 records · best Jan, Oct
Papua New Guinea678 records · best Jul, Sep
Kyrgyzstan647 records · best Jul, May
Trinidad and Tobago634 records · best Oct, Sep
Azerbaijan627 records · best May, Oct
Gambia591 records · best Nov, Dec
El Salvador585 records · best Dec, May
Kuwait532 records · best Jul, Jun
Dominican Republic493 records · best Sep, Oct
Uzbekistan476 records · best May, Jun
New Zealand435 records · best Feb, Jan
South Korea433 records · best Sep, Aug
Madagascar412 records · best Nov, Oct
Albania410 records · best May, Jun
Cuba346 records · best Feb, Aug
Egypt338 records · best Apr, May
Montenegro331 records · best May, Jun
Gabon323 records · best Oct, Sep
Moldova248 records · best May, Aug
Tunisia236 records · best Apr, May
Seychelles204 records · best Nov, Dec
Angola197 records · best Sep, Oct
Singapore179 records · best Sep, Oct
Saudi Arabia176 records · best May, Oct
Tajikistan170 records · best May, Apr
Pakistan157 records · best Oct, Sep
Bahamas156 records · best Oct, May
Barbados132 records · best Oct, Sep
Iraq128 records · best Apr, May
Mauritania128 records · best Mar, Nov
Jordan121 records · best Apr, May
Solomon Islands121 records · best Oct, Nov
Cyprus118 records · best Apr, May
Guinea-Bissau117 records · best Jan, Mar
Ivory Coast115 records · best Sep, Mar
Republic of the Congo109 records · best Sep, Oct
Liberia106 records · best Sep, Apr
Qatar105 records · best Oct, Aug
Grenada89 records · best Oct, Sep
Mauritius86 records · best Nov, Dec
Algeria81 records · best Jun, Oct
Cape Verde75 records · best Apr, Jan
Togo72 records · best Oct, Dec
Armenia70 records · best May, Jun
Sierra Leone64 records · best Jan, Dec
North Macedonia58 records · best May, Jun
Palau56 records · best Oct, Sep
East Timor46 records · best Oct, Nov
Jamaica37 records · best Apr, Feb
Haiti35 records · best Aug, Dec
Yemen31 records · best Oct, Nov
Monaco30 records · best Jun, Jul
Antigua and Barbuda30 records · best Aug, Dec
Bahrain30 records · best Apr, May
Guinea29 records · best Jan, Mar
Maldives29 records · best Mar, Oct
Micronesia28 records · best Apr, Nov
Lebanon28 records · best Apr, Mar
Saint Kitts and Nevis23 records · best Oct, Aug
Syria23 records · best Apr, May
Dominica22 records · best Oct, Aug
Turkmenistan22 records · best May, Aug
North Korea21 records · best Jun, May
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines21 records · best Jun, Jan
Saint Lucia20 records · best Oct, Nov
Libya19 records · best May, Jun
Bosnia and Herzegovina16 records · best May, Jul
Afghanistan14 records · best Jul, Jun
Marshall Islands10 records · best Nov, Dec
Palestine10 records · best Apr, May
Djibouti8 records · best Jan, Oct
Eritrea5 records · best Jan, Aug
São Tomé and Príncipe4 records · best Sep, Oct
Malta3 records · best Aug, Nov
Comoros3 records · best Nov, Apr
Kosovo2 records · best Apr, May
Map
Where it has been recorded
Density of published records; brighter cells have more records.
Relatives
All birds
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