White-winged tern: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the white-winged tern lives – recorded in 59 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Chlidonias leucopterus
Group	Waders, gulls, terns & auks
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	59 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania
Mass	10.5 g (birth weight)
Class	Bird
Order	Charadriiformes
Family	Laridae

Where does the white-winged tern live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the white-winged tern in 59 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. Wikidata gives its range as: Nanling Mountains, Africa, Brazil, South America, Burkina Faso.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

How big is a white-winged tern?

Wikidata records the following for the white-winged tern: mass 10.5 g (birth weight).

Is the white-winged tern endangered?

The white-winged tern’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the white-winged tern?

The white-winged tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) is a bird in the order Charadriiformes and the family Laridae, genus Chlidonias. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the white-winged tern

The white-winged tern or white-winged black tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is a small species generally found in or near bodies of fresh water across much of the world, including Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khelidonios, "swallow-like", from khelidon, "swallow".

The name 'white-winged tern' is the standard in most English-speaking countries; in the United Kingdom, this name is also the one used by the formal ornithological recording authorities, but the older alternative 'white-winged black tern' is still frequent in popular use.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article White-winged tern (revision 1317889453), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q241753 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).