Field Guide
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Little Tern
Sternula albifrons
Not yet photographed by the community
Smallest tern; frantic wingbeats; yellow bill with black tip.
Species Profile
Red List (breeding population declining significantly)
- Lifespan
- 12–15 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 22–24 cm, wingspan 41–47 cm; 30–42 g
- Habitat
- Coastal areas with sandy or shingle beaches, shallow lagoons, and estuaries where it can nest on open ground and feed in shallow waters.
- UK Distribution
- Summer breeder and passage migrant along UK coasts, particularly in southern and eastern England. Arrives April–May and departs by September; absent in winter.
- Diet
- Small fish, primarily sand eels, sprats, and small silversides caught by diving into shallow water.
- Prey
- Sand eels, sprats, silversides, small anchovies
- Predators
- Great Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, foxes, stoats, egg collectors, and human disturbance at nesting sites
- Mating Season
- April to August
- Breeding
- Clutch of 2–3 eggs, incubation period 21–22 days, fledging at 19–20 days. Usually one brood per season; both parents incubate and feed chicks.
- Behaviour
- Highly vocal and agile fliers, hovering over water before plunge-diving for fish. Highly colonial breeders, often nesting in loose groups. Males perform spectacular aerial displays during courtship.
- •The Little Tern is the smallest tern species breeding in the UK
- •UK breeding population has declined by over 70% since the 1970s, primarily due to habitat loss and human disturbance
- •They feed exclusively in shallow water, typically less than 2 metres deep
- •Little Terns return to the same breeding colonies year after year, showing strong site fidelity
- •Males present small fish to females as part of courtship and pair-bonding behaviour
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