Little Tern
Little TernLittle TernLittle TernLittle Tern

Little Tern

Sternula albifrons

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Cape Range
8 Verified sightings at Cape Range From 2019 to 2026
2,337 Verified sightings across all 39 parks From 2019 to 2026
October Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Little Tern

The little tern (Sternula albifrons) is a small seabird of the family Laridae. It is widely distributed breeding on the coasts and inland waterways of Europe, Asia, north and west Africa, and eastern Australia. It winters in the subtropical and tropical oceans as far south as South Africa and Australia.

The little tern was formally described in a sales catalogue by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 under the binomial name Sterna albifrons. The type locality is Holland in the Netherlands. The species was moved to the genus Sternula when the genus Sterna was restricted to the larger typical terns. The genus name Sternula is a diminutive of Sterna, 'tern', while the specific name albifrons is from Latin albus, 'white', and frons, 'forehead'.

Four subspecies are recognised: S. a. albifrons (Pallas, PS, 1764) – breeds Europe and northern Africa to central Asia; winters to African coast and to western India S. a. guineae (Bannerman, DA, 1931) – breeds coast and Niger River basin, Mauritania to Gabon, and northern Kenya

S. a. placens Gould, J, 1871 – breeds coastal eastern Australia including Tasmania; ranges to Indonesia S. a. sinensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) – resident... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Cape Range

Fairy Tern
VU Endemic

Fairy Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sternula nereis

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Silver Gull
Endemic

Silver Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae

Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely
Crested Tern
LC

Crested Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Thalasseus bergii

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
Caspian Tern
LC

Caspian Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Hydroprogne caspia

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Lesser Crested Tern
LC

Lesser Crested Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Thalasseus bengalensis

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
White-winged Tern
LC

White-winged Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chlidonias leucopterus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Bridled Tern
LC

Bridled Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Onychoprion anaethetus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Whiskered Tern
LC

Whiskered Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chlidonias hybrida

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Roseate Tern
LC

Roseate Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sterna dougallii

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Common Tern
LC

Common Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sterna hirundo

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Gull-billed Tern
LC

Gull-billed Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Gelochelidon nilotica

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Sooty Tern
LC

Sooty Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Onychoprion fuscatus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
2 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~20%
3 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
4 Bako National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
5 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
~10%
6 Bali Barat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
7 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
8 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
9 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
10 Ningaloo Marine Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
11 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
12 Cape Range 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
13 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
14 Taroko National Park 🇹🇼 Taiwan
<5%
15 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
16 Raja Ampat 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
17 Wilsons Promontory National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
18 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
<5%
19 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
20 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
21 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
22 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
23 Gauja National Park 🇱🇻 Latvia
Insufficient data
24 Booderee National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
25 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
Insufficient data
26 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
Insufficient data
27 Noosa National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
28 Tanjung Puting National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
Insufficient data
29 Tangkoko Nature Reserve 🇮🇩 Indonesia
Insufficient data
30 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
31 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
Insufficient data
32 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data
33 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Insufficient data
34 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
35 Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park 🇲🇳 Mongolia
Insufficient data
36 Namib-Naukluft National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
Insufficient data
37 Fiordland National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
Insufficient data
38 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
Insufficient data
39 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Little Tern in Cape Range?

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Little Tern sighting in Cape Range, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Little Tern in Cape Range?

October has the highest sighting rate for Little Tern in Cape Range in our monthly data.

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