Little Tern
Little TernLittle TernLittle TernLittle Tern

Little Tern

Sternula albifrons

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Wadden Sea National Park
633 Verified sightings at Wadden Sea National Park From 2019 to 2026
2,348 Verified sightings across all 40 parks From 2019 to 2026
May 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 Wadden Sea National Park

Black-headed Gull

Black-headed Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely
European Herring Gull
LC

European Herring Gull

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Larus argentatus

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely
Common Gull
LC

Common Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus canus

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
Lesser Black-backed Gull
LC

Lesser Black-backed Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus fuscus

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Great Black-backed Gull
LC

Great Black-backed Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus marinus

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Common Tern
LC

Common Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sterna hirundo

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
Sandwich Tern
LC

Sandwich Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Thalasseus sandvicensis

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Black-legged Kittiwake
VU

Black-legged Kittiwake

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Rissa tridactyla

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Little Gull
LC

Little Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Hydrocoloeus minutus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Mediterranean Gull

Mediterranean Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Ichthyaetus melanocephalus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Arctic Tern
LC

Arctic Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sterna paradisaea

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Caspian Gull
LC

Caspian Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus cachinnans

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

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

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Little Tern in Wadden Sea National Park?

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Little Tern sighting in Wadden Sea National Park, based on 633 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Little Tern in Wadden Sea National Park?

May has the highest sighting rate for Little Tern in Wadden Sea National Park in our monthly data.

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