Caspian tern
Hydroprogne caspia (Pallas, 1770)
The caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia) is a bird in the family Laridae and the order Charadriiformes. It is a small, migratory bird of wetland habitats, with an adult body mass of 655 g and a wingspan of 1.3 m.
Quick facts about the caspian tern
It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and checklists record it in Australia.
- Weight
- 588 g – 694 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.27 m – 1.4 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 29.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 23.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.23src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3 yearssrc 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
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
How big is the caspian tern?
Photos of the caspian tern
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the caspian tern live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The caspian tern is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the caspian tern?
The Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia) is the world's largest species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no accepted subspecies. The genus name is from Ancient Greek hudro-, "water-", and Latin progne, "swallow". The specific caspia is from Latin and, like the English name, refers to the Caspian Sea.
From the Wikipedia article “Caspian tern” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caspian_tern&oldid=1380578518), 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 caspian tern sound like?
Is the caspian tern endangered?
The caspian 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 caspian tern classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyLaridae
- genusHydroprogne
- SpeciesHydroprogne caspia (Pallas, 1770)
Synonyms Helopus caspius, Hydrochelidon tschegrava, Hydroprogne caspia, Hydroprogne caspia, Hydroprogne caspia caspia, Hydroprogne tschegrava, Sterna caspia, Sterna caspica, Sterna schillingii, Sterna tschegrava, Sterna tschegrava, Sylochelidon caspia, Sylochelidon strenuus
Other names and names in other languages (63)
- Reuseseeswael (Reusesterretjie)Afrikaans
- خرشنة قزوينيةArabic
- الخرشنة القزوينيةArabic
- garrochín grandeAsturian
- Крычка-чэграваBelarusian
- Каспийска рибаркаBulgarian
- Skrav-KaspiaBreton
- xatrac grosCatalan
- rybák velkozobýCzech
- Môr-Wennol FwyafWelsh
- Môr-Wenoliaid MwyafWelsh
- morwennol gawraiddWelsh
- RaubseeschwalbeGerman
- ΚαρατζάςGreek
- kaspia ŝternoEsperanto
- Charrán caspiaSpanish
- Pagaza piquirrojaSpanish
- räusktiir e. räuskEstonian
- پرستو دریایی خزریPersian
- räyskäFinnish
- StórternaFaroese
- Sterne caspienneFrench
- Geabhróg ChaspachIrish
- Sternag ChaspaghScottish Gaelic
- שחפית גמדיתHebrew
- שחפית כספיתHebrew
- lócsérHungarian
- Dara-laut caspiaIndonesian
- RánþernaIcelandic
- sterna maggioreItalian
- オニアジサシJapanese
- 붉은부리큰제비갈매기Korean
- plėšrioji žuvėdraLithuanian
- lielais zīriņšLatvian
- TrobakyMalagasy
- касписка рибаркаMacedonian
- വലിയ ചെങ്കൊക്കൻ ആളMalayalam
- reuzensternDutch
- rovterneNorwegian
- Meuchi GigantePapiamento
- Stèrnchi GigantePapiamento
- rybitwa wielkodziobaPolish
- garajau-grandePortuguese
- pescăriţa mareRomanian
- Pescăriţă mareRomanian
- чеграваRussian
- RáhkočearretNorthern Sami
- gilljočearretNorthern Sami
- čegrava veľkozobáSlovak
- kaspijska čigraSlovenian
- dallëndyshja e madhe e detitAlbanian
- Velika čigraSerbian
- skräntärnaSwedish
- นกนางนวลแกลบแคสเปียนThai
- buyuk sumruTurkish
- büyük sumruTurkish
- Hazar SumrusuTurkish
- Каспійський крячокUkrainian
- Крячок каспійськийUkrainian
- 紅嘴巨鷗Chinese
- 红嘴巨燕鸥Chinese
- 裏海燕鷗Chinese
- 裡海燕鷗〔紅嘴巨鷗〕Chinese
Relatives of the caspian tern
Other species in the same family Laridae.
Black-headed gull
Chroicocephalus ridibundus
European herring gull
Larus argentatus
Common gull
Larus canus
Common tern
Sterna hirundo
Lesser black-backed gull
Larus fuscus
Arctic tern
Sterna paradisaea
CompareCaspian tern vs Black-headed gullCaspian tern vs European herring gullCaspian tern vs Common gullCaspian tern vs Common 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 caspian tern?
The caspian tern is a bird in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. It is a small, migratory species.
How big is the caspian tern?
The caspian tern has an adult body mass of 655 g, from 588 g to 694 g, and a wingspan of 1.3 m, from 1.27 m to 1.4 m.
What does the caspian tern eat?
The caspian tern is an aquatic predator and a carnivore that forages in the air.
Which countries is the caspian tern recorded in?
Checklists record the caspian tern in Australia. Its habitat is wetland, and its geographic range covers 6,294,000 km².
Is the caspian tern endangered?
No. The caspian tern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the caspian tern live?
The caspian tern has a lifespan of 29.8 years, with values up to 30 years reported.
How many eggs does the caspian tern lay?
The caspian tern lays 2.2 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. Incubation lasts 23.5 days.
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). Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/caspian-tern
“Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/caspian-tern.
@misc{caspian_tern_2026,
title = {Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/caspian-tern},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}