Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) has a widespread breeding range that spans the Americas, Africa, coastal South Asia, Australia and temperate Eurasia. All populations move considerably post-breeding but the northern ones migrate long-distances to the south.

Populations in the Indian Subcontinent that breed in coastal waters are supplemented many fold during winter when migratory populations from the eastern parts of their temperate range visit.

Migration map

This animated migration map was created from observations uploaded to the citizen science platform eBird up until 2020. Where present, the inset graph depicts the seasonal likelihood of finding this species (i.e. the proportion of eBird checklists) within its range in India alone. We are grateful to the many birdwatchers around the world who have enabled the creation of this animation by sharing their observations on eBird.

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