Inca tern
Larosterna inca (R. Lesson & Garnot, 1827)
The inca tern (Larosterna inca) is a species in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 180 g to 219 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.
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Quick facts about the inca tern
- Weight
- 180 g – 219 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the inca tern live?
Not recorded
What is the inca tern?
The Inca tern (Larosterna inca) is a near-threatened species of tern in the subfamily Sterninae of the family Laridae (the gulls, terns, and skimmers). It is found along the Pacific coasts of Chile, Ecuador and Perú, and has appeared as a vagrant in Central America and Hawaii.
From the Wikipedia article “Inca tern” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inca_tern&oldid=1325656342), 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.
Is the inca tern endangered?
The inca tern is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- 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 Near Threatened species.
How is the inca tern classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyLaridae
- genusLarosterna
- SpeciesLarosterna inca (R. Lesson & Garnot, 1827)
Synonyms Sterna inca
Other names and names in other languages (43)
- خرشنة الإنكاArabic
- Инкска рибаркаBulgarian
- Skrav inkaBreton
- xatrac incaCatalan
- rybák inkaCzech
- corswennol IncaWelsh
- InkaterneDanish
- InkaseeschwalbeGerman
- Inka-SeeschwalbeGerman
- inkaa ŝternoEsperanto
- Charrán incaSpanish
- Gaviotín IncaSpanish
- Gaviotín monjaSpanish
- inkatiirEstonian
- پرستوی دریایی اینکاPersian
- inkatiiraFinnish
- Sterne incaFrench
- שחפית האינקהHebrew
- brkata čigraCroatian
- inka csérHungarian
- Dara laut inkaIndonesian
- Sterna incaItalian
- インカアジサシJapanese
- žuvėdra inkaLithuanian
- IncasternDutch
- InkasternDutch
- rybitwa wąsataPolish
- gaivina-incaPortuguese
- Gaviotinha-monjaPortuguese
- grazina-incaPortuguese
- trinta-réis-de-bigodePortuguese
- trinta-réis-de-bigodesPortuguese
- Крачка-инкаRussian
- Крачка инковRussian
- rybarica ozdobnáSlovak
- Inka čigraSerbian
- inkatärnaSwedish
- İnka sumruTurkish
- İnka SumrusuTurkish
- крячок-інкаUkrainian
- Mòng biển IncaVietnamese
- 印加燕鷗Chinese
- 印加燕鸥Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the inca 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
CompareInca tern vs Black-headed gullInca tern vs European herring gullInca tern vs Common gullInca tern vs Common tern
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the inca tern?
An adult inca tern weighs 180 g – 219 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the inca tern endangered?
The inca tern is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.
What kind of animal is the inca tern?
The inca tern (Larosterna inca) belongs to the family Laridae in the order Charadriiformes.
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). Inca tern (Larosterna inca). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/inca-tern
“Inca tern (Larosterna inca).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/inca-tern.
@misc{inca_tern_2026,
title = {Inca tern (Larosterna inca)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/inca-tern},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}