Bird Guide Gulls and Terns Least Tern
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Least Tern

Least Tern
At a Glance Range & Identification Conservation Explore More Back to Top

At a Glance

All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Gull-like Birds, Gulls and Terns
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Coasts and Shorelines, Freshwater Wetlands, Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers, Saltwater Wetlands
Region
California, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Southwest, Texas
Behavior
Direct Flight, Flap/Glide, Hovering, Soaring, Swooping

Range & Identification

Migration & Range Maps

Description

Size
About the size of a Robin
Color
Black, Gray, White, Yellow
Wing Shape
Long, Narrow, Pointed, Tapered
Tail Shape
Forked, Notched

Songs and Calls

Call Pattern
Flat, Undulating
Call Type
Chirp/Chip, Raucous, Scream

Conservation

Change in Abundance Over Time
Drawing on more than a century of community science from the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), this chart shows how this species’ relative abundance has shifted in recent decades. Explore more and get involved in the CBC.

Climate Map

Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect the range of the Least Tern. Learn even more in Audubon’s Survival By Degrees project.

Climate Threats Facing the Least Tern

Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.

Explore More

Murals, Art, and Culture

Artists throughout history and across the U.S. have captured this bird in murals, books, and museum hangings. See what they’ve done: