Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaea · Bird that breeds in the Arctic and sub-Arctic and migrates to the Antarctic
Order
Charadriiformes
Codes
arcter, ARTE

About the Arctic Tern

The Arctic tern is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. The species is strongly migratory, seeing two summers each year as they migrate along a convoluted route from their northern breeding grounds to the Antarctic coast for the southern summer and back again about six months later. Recent studies have shown average annual round-trip lengths of about 70,900 km (38,300 nmi) for birds nesting in Iceland and Greenland, and about 48,700 km (26,300 nmi) for birds nesting in the Netherlands, while an individual from the Farne Islands in Northumberland with a light level geolocator tag covered a staggering 96,000 km (52,000 nmi) in ten months from the end of one breeding season to the start of the next. These are by far the longest migrations known in the animal kingdom.

Source: Wikipedia

Taxonomy & Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyGulls, Terns, and Skimmers (Laridae)
SpeciesSterna paradisaea
Species Codesarcter, ARTE

Frequently Asked Questions

What family does the Arctic Tern belong to?

The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) belongs to the Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers family (Laridae), in the order Charadriiformes.

How can I identify the Arctic Tern?

The Arctic tern is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. The species is strongly migratory, seeing two summers each year as they migrate along a convoluted route from their northe...

Where can I report a Arctic Tern sighting?

You can log sightings of Arctic Tern on eBird (ebird.org) using species code arcter, or on iNaturalist.