Chinese crested tern

Thalasseus bernsteini

The Chinese crested tern (Thalasseus bernsteini) is a bird found in China, Taiwan, Philippines and South Korea. Found in China, Taiwan, the Philippines and South Korea. It eats fish. The IUCN Red List lists it as Critically Endangered.

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Scientific name	Thalasseus bernsteini
Region	Asia
Found in	China, Taiwan, Philippines and South Korea

🏡 Where the Chinese crested tern lives

Found in China, Taiwan, the Philippines and South Korea.

🍽️ What it eats

🐟 Fish100%

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

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Critically EndangeredAlmost gone from the wild.

💡 It weighs about 284 grams. It mostly eats fish.

Hear the Chinese crested tern

Recorded by ProgWalrus (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1157111. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Chinese crested tern

Where does the Chinese crested tern live?

The Chinese crested tern lives in China, Taiwan, Philippines and South Korea. Found in China, Taiwan, the Philippines and South Korea.

What does the Chinese crested tern eat?

fish (about 100%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Chinese crested tern endangered?

Almost gone from the wild. Its IUCN Red List category is Critically Endangered.

More birds from Asia

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