Common tern

Sterna hirundo

The Common tern (Sterna hirundo) is a bird found in United States, Sweden, Netherlands, Canada, Finland, United Kingdom, and 3 more countries. Coasts and lakes around the Northern Hemisphere. It eats fish, insects and other small invertebrates and dead animals (carrion). The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Sterna hirundo
Region	North America
Found in	United States, Sweden, Netherlands, Canada, Finland, United Kingdom, and 3 more countries

🏡 Where the Common tern lives

Coasts and lakes around the Northern Hemisphere.

🍽️ 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

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It dives headfirst into the water to catch fish and migrates far south each winter.

Hear the Common tern

Recorded by AUDEVARD Aurélien (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC644117. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Common tern

Where does the Common tern live?

The Common tern lives in United States, Sweden, Netherlands, Canada, Finland, United Kingdom, and 3 more countries. Coasts and lakes around the Northern Hemisphere.

What does the Common 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 Common tern endangered?

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

More birds from North America

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