Black tern
Chlidonias niger (Linnaeus, 1758)
The black tern (Chlidonias niger) is a bird in the family Laridae and the order Charadriiformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 65.3 g and a wingspan of 53.9 cm.
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Quick facts about the black tern
This migratory, aerial carnivore is an aquatic predator that lives in wetland habitat. The black tern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 60 g – 65.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 53.9 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 17.2 years – 21 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 21.2 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 24 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the black tern?
Photos of the black tern
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the black tern live?
Not recorded
What is the black tern?
The black tern (Chlidonias niger) is a small tern generally found in or near inland water that breeds in Europe, Western Asia and North America. In winter the birds migrate to coastal areas of Africa and South America.
From the Wikipedia article “Black tern” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_tern&oldid=1380656353), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the black tern sound like?
Is the black tern endangered?
The black tern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the black tern classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyLaridae
- genusChlidonias
- SpeciesChlidonias niger (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Childonias niger, Chilidonias niger, Chlidonias fissipes, Hydrochelidon nigra
Other names and names in other languages (102)
- SwartmeerswaelAfrikaans
- Swartmeerswael (Swartsterretjie)Afrikaans
- خطاف أسودArabic
- خرشنة سوداءArabic
- garrochín prietuAsturian
- Qara sternaAzerbaijani
- Чорная рыбачкаBelarusian
- Черна рибаркаBulgarian
- Stêrwennel zuBreton
- fumarell negreCatalan
- Хура шывчӗкеҫChuvash
- rybák černýCzech
- Ysgraen DduWelsh
- cors-wennol dduWelsh
- Cors-Wenoliaid DuWelsh
- Corswennol dduWelsh
- Môr Wennol DduWelsh
- Ysgraell DduWelsh
- Ysgraen DdulwydWelsh
- sortterneDanish
- TrauerseeschwalbeGerman
- Trauer-SeeschwalbeGerman
- ΜαυρογλάρονοGreek
- nigra ŝternoEsperanto
- Charrán negroSpanish
- Charrancito NegroSpanish
- Fumarel comúnSpanish
- Fumarel NegroSpanish
- Gaviota NegraSpanish
- Gaviotín negroSpanish
- mustviiresEstonian
- Itas enaraBasque
- Itsas enara beltzBasque
- پرستو دریایی سیاهPersian
- mustatiiraFinnish
- SvartternaFaroese
- Guifette noireFrench
- Sterne épouvantailFrench
- Blä bakerNorthern Frisian
- BlaustirnsWestern Frisian
- Steàrnan dubhScottish Gaelic
- geabhróg dhubhScottish Gaelic
- Carrán mouroGalician
- Gant dooManx
- Sternag ghooManx
- Mòv nwaHaitian Creole
- מרומית שחורהHebrew
- מירומית שחורהHebrew
- שחפית שחורה )"מרומית שחורה"(Hebrew
- kormos szerkőHungarian
- Ջրածիծառ սևArmenian
- KolþernaIcelandic
- KolßernaIcelandic
- mignattinoItalian
- Mignattino comuneItalian
- ハシグロクロハラアジサシJapanese
- შანი თევზიყლაპიაGeorgian
- ПсытхьэрыкъуапцӀэKabardian
- Хара хайлахkjn
- Қара қарқылдақKazakh
- 검은제비갈매기Korean
- Morwennol dhuCornish
- Schwaarz SéischmuewelLuxembourgish
- juodoji žuvėdraLithuanian
- melnais zīriņšLatvian
- SambimaintyMalagasy
- црна рибаркаMacedonian
- Рибарска вртимушкаMacedonian
- ആളക്കറുപ്പൻMalayalam
- Ċirlewwa SewdaMaltese
- Хилэн хараалайMongolian
- zwarte sternDutch
- svartterneNorwegian
- Meuchi PretuPapiamento
- Stèrnchi PretoPapiamento
- rybitwa czarnaPolish
- کالی ٹرنWestern Panjabi
- gaivina-pretaPortuguese
- trinta-réis-negroPortuguese
- Pestgarel nairRomansh
- chirighiţa neagrăRomanian
- Chirighiţă neagrăRomanian
- Чёрная крачкаRussian
- черная крачкаRussian
- Чёрная болотная крачкаRussian
- Чорна крачкаRusyn
- ČáhppesdirruNorthern Sami
- čáhppesčearretNorthern Sami
- čorík čiernySlovak
- črna čigraSlovenian
- Dallëndyshe deti zezëAlbanian
- dallëndyshja e detit e zezëAlbanian
- Crna čigraSerbian
- Црна чиграSerbian
- Crna čigra - Црна чиграSerbian
- CaixeddaSardinian
- svarttärnaSwedish
- kara sumruTurkish
- Кара суг хараачыгайыTuvinian
- Крячок чорнийUkrainian
- 黑浮鷗Chinese
- 黑浮鸥Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the black tern
Other species in the same genus Chlidonias.
White-winged tern
Chlidonias leucopterus
Whiskered tern
Chlidonias hybrida
Black-fronted tern
Chlidonias albostriatus
CompareBlack tern vs White-winged ternBlack tern vs Whiskered ternBlack tern vs Black-fronted tern
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the black tern?
The black tern is a bird in the family Laridae, part of the order Charadriiformes.
How big is the black tern?
The black tern is a small bird with an adult body mass of 65.3 g and a wingspan of 53.9 cm.
What does the black tern eat?
The black tern is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.
Is the black tern endangered?
No. The black tern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the black tern live?
The black tern has a lifespan of 17.2 years, with values up to 21 years reported.
How many eggs does the black tern lay?
The black tern lays 3 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year, with an incubation period of 21.2 days.
Who named the black tern?
The black tern, Chlidonias niger, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Black tern (Chlidonias niger). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-tern
“Black tern (Chlidonias niger).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-tern.
@misc{black_tern_2026,
title = {Black tern (Chlidonias niger)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-tern},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}