Bridled Tern

Onychoprion anaethetus (Scopoli, 1786)

≈40 cmLength79 cmWingspan119 gWeight

The adult has a white supercilium and white collar on the nape, trailing a long, deeply forked tail.

Busiest months: July · Most records: China, Sri Lanka, Israel

Looks like Sooty Tern

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Adult forehead and supercilium white
Adult has a conspicuous white collar on the nape
Adult tail long and deeply forked; wings narrow and pointed
Bill and legs black

Male, female and young

Juvenile has gray upperparts with a scaly pattern and pale underparts.

Similar species

Sooty Tern

Bridled Tern has a paler back, a narrower white forehead and a pale collar on the nape.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: July · Most records: China, Sri Lanka, Israel

Bridled Tern has been recorded at 287 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 67 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Negombo - Morawala Beach - seawatchingSri Lanka466 records
Eilat north beachIsrael457 records
Po ToiHong Kong (China)404 records

More places

Singapore StraitsSingapore210 records
Caille islandGrenada192 records
Hacienda La EsperanzaPuerto Rico187 records
Little Tobago IslandTrinidad & Tobago173 records
ArideSeychelles167 records
Cousin Island NRSeychelles97 records
Klein CuraçaoCuraçao96 records

Countries and regions with the most records

China Sri Lanka Israel Seychelles Singapore Grenada Puerto Rico Trinidad & Tobago

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The bridled tern (Onychoprion anaethetus) is a seabird of the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Bridled Tern?

The Bridled Tern is about ≈40 cm long, with a wingspan of 79 cm and weighs around 119 g.

Where does the Bridled Tern live?

Its breeding range: Tropical Oceans: widespread tropical and subtropical islands, mostly near continents (except eastern Polynesia and Hawaiian Islands and other remote islands). It is most often recorded in China, Sri Lanka and Israel.

When is the best time to see the Bridled Tern?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in July (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Bridled Tern endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Bridled Tern as Least Concern.

What does the Bridled Tern eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Bridled Tern in?

It belongs to the family Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Length: ≈40 cm
Wingspan: 79 cm
Weight: 119 g
Habitat: Ocean
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Feeds in the air
Migration: Partial migrant
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 274 mm
Tail: 183 mm
Bill: 46 mm
Tarsus: 21 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Tropical Oceans: widespread tropical and subtropical islands, mostly near continents (except eastern Polynesia and Hawaiian Islands and other remote islands)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1

Onychoprion anaethetus anaethetus tropical and subtropical e Indian and w Pacific oceans: islands w of Thailand and Malaysia, in Indonesian Arch., Okinawa and Yaeyama is. (Ryukyu Is.=Nansei Shoto, s Japan), Taiwan (China), islands off e China, Philippines, New Guinea and w, n, ne Australian satellites, Admiralty Is. (nw Bismarck Arch.), Rennell (s Solomon Is.), New Caledonia and Fiji (sw Polynesia) to Samoa (c Polynesia)