Little Tern

Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) has a widespread breeding range that spans 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 near coastal and inland waters (unlike Gull-billed Tern that breeds off the coast only in this region) are supplemented many fold during winter when both these and northern populations migrate to the coastline.

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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