# Black tern (*Chlidonias niger*)

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

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 60 g – 65.3 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 53.9 cm |
| Lifespan | 17.2 years – 21 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 21.2 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3 |
| Age at maturity | 24 months |
| 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: Chlidonias
- species: *Chlidonias niger* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Childonias niger*, *Chilidonias niger*, *Chlidonias fissipes*, *Hydrochelidon nigra*

## Common questions

### 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

- [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: Black tern (Chlidonias niger). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-tern