Birds › Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
Little Tern
Sternula albifrons
25 photos
Study shows up to four per card, from different observers, so you learn the species rather than one picture. Heart the good ones and swap any you do not like.
Photos you add are credited to you, and you keep the copyright.
Sounds
- Recording by Jochem verweij (XC900572). CC-BY-SA · Source
Easily confused with
Common TernSterna hirundo
Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
Great Crested TernThalasseus bergii
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
Least TernSternula antillarum
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
Black-naped TernSterna sumatrana
Saunders's TernSternula saundersi
Study checks a spoken answer against these, and tells you which one you named.
Where it is recorded
| United States | 192,179 |
|---|---|
| Alaska | 192,008 |
| Russia | 1,221 |
| Portugal | 605 |
| France | 503 |
| Australia | 457 |
| Spain | 409 |
| FARO | 341 |
| New South Wales | 316 |
| Nizhny Novgorod Oblast | 238 |
Counts show where people looked, not only where it lives.
Traits
Behavioral
- CarnivoreEats other animals or animal-derived prey as a major part of its diet.BIRDBASE avian traits database
Group and habits
- Shrub nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting in shrubs.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Ground nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting on the ground.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Platform nestingListed by a harvested source as building platform nests.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Water nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting on water.BIRDBASE avian traits database
Classification
| Kingdom | Animals · Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordates · Chordata |
| Class | Birds · Aves |
| Order | Shorebirds and Allies · Charadriiformes |
| Family | Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers · Laridae |
| Genus | Small Terns · Sternula |
Study it in a deck
Or build your own from the species near you.
Sources
- Names, taxonomy and observation counts: www.inaturalist.org
- Photos and recordings: the creator and source are on each one.
- Traits: BIRDBASE avian traits database (CC BY 4.0)
- How much to rely on each source
Remember the name next time.
Practise Little Tern with real photos from different observers and its recordings. Say the name out loud, and it comes back just before you would forget it.