Bridled Tern
Onychoprion anaethetus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
- FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
- GenusOnychoprion (Brown-backed Terns)
- SpeciesOnychoprion anaethetus (Bridled Tern)
About the Bridled Tern
The bridled tern (Onychoprion anaethetus) is a seabird of the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus comes from onux meaning "claw" or "nail", and prion, meaning "saw". The specific anaethetus means "senseless, stupid", in reference to its tameness around humans.
This is a medium-sized tern, at 30–32 cm in length and with a 77–81 cm wingspan similar to the common tern in size, but more heavily built. The wings and deeply forked tail are long, and it has dark grey upperparts and white underparts. The forehead and eyebrows are white, as is a striking collar on the hindneck. It has black legs and bill. Juvenile bridled terns are scaly grey above and pale below.
This species is unlikely to be confused with any tern apart from the similarly dark-backed sooty tern and the spectacled tern from the Tropical Pacific. It is paler-backed than that sooty, (but not as pale as the grey-backed) and has a narrower white forehead and a pale neck collar.
This bird is migratory and dispersive, wintering more widely through the tropical oceans. It has markedly marine habits compared to... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Komodo National Park
Sooty Tern
Onychoprion fuscatus
Crested Tern
Thalasseus bergii
Black-naped Tern
Sterna sumatrana
Lesser Crested Tern
Thalasseus bengalensis
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
Brown Noddy
Anous stolidus
Little Tern
Sternula albifrons
Roseate Tern
Sterna dougallii
Whiskered Tern
Chlidonias hybrida
White-winged Tern
Chlidonias leucopterus
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon nilotica
Red-necked Phalarope
Phalaropus lobatus
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 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Coiba National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 7 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Bastimentos Island National Marine Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 10 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Bako National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 12 | Noosa National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Santa Rosa National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 14 | Jaragua National Park | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 15 | Las Baulas Marine National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 16 | Machalilla National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 17 | Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 18 | Kerinci Seblat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 19 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 20 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Bridled Tern in Komodo National Park?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bridled Tern sighting in Komodo National Park, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Bridled Tern in Komodo National Park?
August has the highest sighting rate for Bridled Tern in Komodo National Park in our monthly data.