Lesser crested tern
Thalasseus bengalensis (R. Lesson, 1831)
The lesser crested tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) is a species in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 209 g to 213 g. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the lesser crested tern
- Weight
- 209 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 88 cm – 1.05 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastalsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 23.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- 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 lesser crested tern?
Where does the lesser crested 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 lesser crested 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 lesser crested tern?
The lesser crested tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) is a tern in the family Laridae.
From the Wikipedia article “Lesser crested tern” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lesser_crested_tern&oldid=1379926187), 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 lesser crested tern endangered?
The lesser crested 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 lesser crested tern classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyLaridae
- genusThalasseus
- SpeciesThalasseus bengalensis (R. Lesson, 1831)
Synonyms Pelecanopus bengalensis par, Sterna bengalensis par, Sterna media, Thalasseus bengalensis, Thalasseus bengalensis par
Other names and names in other languages (52)
- Lesser crested-ternEnglish
- Kuifkopseeswael (Kuifkopsterretjie)Afrikaans
- خرشنة بنغاليةArabic
- الخرشنة المتوجة الصغيرةArabic
- Бенгалска рибаркаBulgarian
- Skrav-BengalBreton
- xatrac de BengalaCatalan
- rybák oranžovozobýCzech
- Môr-wennol Gribog FachWelsh
- môr-wennol gribog leiafWelsh
- Môr-Wenoliaid Cribog LleiafWelsh
- Bengalsk TerneDanish
- RüppellseeschwalbeGerman
- Πορτοκαλόραμφο γλαρόνιGreek
- bengala ŝternoEsperanto
- Charrán bengalíSpanish
- liivatiirEstonian
- پرستو دریایی کاکلی کوچکPersian
- pikkutöyhtötiiraFinnish
- Sterne voyageuseFrench
- Geabhróg bheangálachIrish
- Sternag chereenagh vegScottish Gaelic
- שחפית בנגליתHebrew
- שחפית כתומת-מקורHebrew
- narančastokljuna čigraCroatian
- bengáli csérHungarian
- Dara-laut benggalaIndonesian
- BengalþernaIcelandic
- Sterna di RüppellItalian
- ベンガルアジサシJapanese
- bengalinė žuvėdraLithuanian
- mazais cekulzīriņšLatvian
- VarevakaMalagasy
- TrobakamadinikaMalagasy
- ചെറിയ കടലാളMalayalam
- Bengaalse SternDutch
- bengalterneNorwegian
- rybitwa bengalskaPolish
- garajau-pequenoPortuguese
- garajau-bengalensePortuguese
- Бенгальская крачкаRussian
- крачка хохлатая малаяRussian
- BengálčearretNorthern Sami
- rybár prostrednýSlovak
- bengalska čigraSlovenian
- iltärnaSwedish
- mindre iltärnaSwedish
- นกนางนวลแกลบหงอนเล็กThai
- tepeli sumruTurkish
- Крячок бенгальськийUkrainian
- 小凤头燕鸥Chinese
- 小鳳頭燕鷗Chinese
Relatives of the lesser crested tern
Other species in the same genus Thalasseus.
Sandwich tern
Thalasseus sandvicensis
Greater crested tern
Thalasseus bergii
Royal tern
Thalasseus maximus
Chinese crested tern
Thalasseus bernsteini
Elegant tern
Thalasseus elegans
Cabot's tern
Thalasseus acuflavidus
CompareLesser crested tern vs Sandwich ternLesser crested tern vs Greater crested ternLesser crested tern vs Royal ternLesser crested tern vs Chinese crested tern
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the lesser crested tern?
An adult lesser crested tern weighs 209 g and has a wingspan of 88 cm – 1.05 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the lesser crested tern live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the lesser crested tern for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
Is the lesser crested tern endangered?
The lesser crested tern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the lesser crested tern?
The lesser crested tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) 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).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Lesser crested tern (Thalasseus bengalensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-crested-tern
“Lesser crested tern (Thalasseus bengalensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-crested-tern.
@misc{lesser_crested_tern_2026,
title = {Lesser crested tern (Thalasseus bengalensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-crested-tern},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}