Sterna hirundo
A graceful, silvery "sea-swallow" with a long forked tail.
Size: 31-35 cm | Habitat: Sea, Marsh, Estuary & Shoreline Birds | Season: Summer visitor
Silvery-grey above and white below, with a black cap and a long, deeply forked tail, the common tern is the tern most likely to be seen inland as well as around the coast, nesting on gravel islands, rafts, and shingle beaches.
Silvery-grey upperparts · black cap · red bill with a black tip (summer) · long, deeply forked tail · buoyant, hovering flight before diving
Common terns hover over water before plunge-diving for small fish, and defend their nests noisily and aggressively, often dive-bombing anything that comes too close, humans included.
Common terns are the tern most often seen well away from the coast, breeding on gravel pits, reservoirs, and rivers far inland as well as on the shore.
The Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) is silvery-grey above and white below, with a black cap and long, deeply forked tail that earns it the nickname "sea-swallow." It is the tern most likely to be seen well inland as well as around the coast.
Common terns hover over water before plunge-diving for small fish, nesting in noisy colonies on gravel islands, purpose-built rafts, reservoirs, and shingle beaches, and defend their nests aggressively, often dive-bombing anything — including people — that strays too close.
Food shortages caused by overfishing and shifting fish stocks under climate change, alongside disturbance from walkers, dogs, and predation by mink, foxes, otters, and gulls, all continue to put pressure on breeding colonies around the UK.
🟠 Conservation status: Amber (UK Birds of Conservation Concern 5)
Amber-listed under BoCC5, reflecting ongoing pressures from food shortages and disturbance at breeding colonies both on the coast and inland.