# Arctic tern (*Sterna paradisaea*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/arctic-tern  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea), also called Artic tern, is a small bird in the family Laridae and the order Charadriiformes. It is a migratory, coastal aquatic predator with an aerial foraging lifestyle and a geographic range of 10,400,000 km². It has 2 eggs per clutch and 1 clutch per year, with an incubation period of 21.6 days, reaches sexual maturity at 3 years and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 110 g – 117 g |
| Length | 33 cm – 36 cm |
| Wingspan | 80 cm |
| Lifespan | 34 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | coastal |
| Egg incubation | 21.6 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2 |
| Age at maturity | 3 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Aerial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Laridae
- genus: Sterna
- species: *Sterna paradisaea* Pontoppidan, 1763

Synonyms: *Sterna arctica*, *Sterna arctica*, *Sterna argentacea*, *Sterna macrura*, *Sterna macrura antistropha*, *Sterna paradisae*, *Sterna paradisea*, *Sterna pikei*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the Arctic tern?

The Arctic tern is a small bird in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes, genus Sterna.

### How heavy is the Arctic tern?

An adult Arctic tern weighs 110 g, with values up to 117 g reported. Its wingspan is 80 cm.

### What does the Arctic tern eat?

The Arctic tern is an aquatic predator and a carnivore, with an aerial foraging lifestyle.

### What habitat does the Arctic tern live in?

The Arctic tern lives in coastal habitats. It is migratory and has a geographic range of 10,400,000 km².

### Is the Arctic tern endangered?

No. The Arctic tern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the Arctic tern live?

The lifespan of the Arctic tern is 34 years.

### How many eggs does the Arctic tern lay?

The Arctic tern has 2 eggs per clutch and 1 clutch per year. Incubation lasts 21.6 days, and it reaches sexual maturity at 3 years.

### Who named the Arctic tern?

The Arctic tern was named Sterna paradisaea by Pontoppidan, 1763.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/arctic-tern