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The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a bird found in Sweden, United States, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and 2 more countries. Arctic coasts in summer; Antarctic seas in winter. It eats fish, insects and other small invertebrates and dead animals (carrion). The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Arctic Tern lives

Arctic coasts in summer; Antarctic seas in winter.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐟 Fish80%
• 🐛 Insects & bugs10%
• 🦴 Leftovers (carrion)10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Arctic Tern

Recorded by Stanislas Wroza (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1167959. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Arctic Tern

Where does the Arctic Tern live?

The Arctic Tern lives in Sweden, United States, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and 2 more countries. Arctic coasts in summer; Antarctic seas in winter.

What does the Arctic Tern eat?

fish (about 80%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 10%), dead animals (carrion) (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Arctic Tern endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Polar & Oceans

• King Penguin
• Wandering Albatross
• Adélie Penguin
• Snow petrel
• Gentoo penguin
• Antarctic tern

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.