White-winged tern
Chlidonias leucopterus (Temminck, 1815)
The white-winged tern (Chlidonias leucopterus), also called the White-winged black tern, is a bird of the family Laridae in the order Charadriiformes. It is a small, migratory bird of wetland habitats that forages in the air as an aquatic predator and carnivore.
Quick facts about the white-winged tern
Adults weigh from 54.1 to 70.3 g, with a representative mass of 54.2 g, and have a wingspan of 65 cm.
- Weight
- 54.1 g – 70.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 65 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 20 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.91src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 23.9 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 white-winged tern?
Photos of the white-winged tern
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the white-winged tern live?
Not recorded
What is the white-winged tern?
The white-winged tern or white-winged black tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is a small species generally found in or near bodies of fresh water across much of the world, including Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khelidonios, "swallow-like", from khelidon, "swallow".
The name 'white-winged tern' is the standard in most English-speaking countries; in the United Kingdom, this name is also the one used by the formal ornithological recording authorities, but the older alternative 'white-winged black tern' is still frequent in popular use.
From the Wikipedia article “White-winged tern” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White-winged_tern&oldid=1317889453), 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 white-winged tern endangered?
The white-winged 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 white-winged tern classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyLaridae
- genusChlidonias
- SpeciesChlidonias leucopterus (Temminck, 1815)
Synonyms Hydrochelidon leucoptera, Hydrochelidon leucoptera belli, Hydrochelidon subleucoptera, Sterna leucoptera, Sterna leucoururus
Other names and names in other languages (83)
- White winged ternEnglish
- White-winged black ternEnglish
- WWBTEnglish
- WitvlerkmeerswaelAfrikaans
- Witvlerkmeerswael (Witvlerksterretjie)Afrikaans
- WitvlerksterretjieAfrikaans
- خطاف أبيض الجناحArabic
- خرشنة بيضاء الجناحArabic
- خطاف البحر أبيض الجناحArabic
- Gaviotín aliblancoAragonese
- Крачка белакрылаяBelarusian
- Белакрылая рыбачкаBelarusian
- Белокрила рибаркаBulgarian
- Stêrwennel eskell gwennBreton
- fumarell alablancCatalan
- Шур ҫунатлӑ шывчӗкеҫChuvash
- rybák bělokřídlýCzech
- Corswennol adeinwenWelsh
- cors-wennol adeinwenWelsh
- Cors-Wenoliaid AdeinwynWelsh
- hvidvinget terneDanish
- Weißflügel-SeeschwalbeGerman
- WeißflügelseeschwalbeGerman
- ΑργυρογλάρονοGreek
- blankflugila ŝternoEsperanto
- Fumarel aliblancoSpanish
- valgetiib-viiresEstonian
- Itsas enara hegalzuriBasque
- پرستو دریایی بال سفیدPersian
- valkosiipitiiraFinnish
- Vonghvít svartternaFaroese
- Guifette leucoptèreFrench
- Geabhróg bháneiteachIrish
- Sternag skian-vaneScottish Gaelic
- מרומית לבנת-כנףHebrew
- מירומית לבנת-כנףHebrew
- bjelokrila čigraCroatian
- fehérszárnyú szerkőHungarian
- Ջրածիծեռ սպիտակաթևArmenian
- Սպիտակաթև ջրածիծառArmenian
- Dara-laut sayap-putihIndonesian
- TígulþernaIcelandic
- TígulßernaIcelandic
- Mignattino alibiancheItalian
- ハジロクロハラアジサシJapanese
- Аққанатты қарқылдақKazakh
- 흰죽지갈매기Korean
- 흰죽지제비갈매기Korean
- WäissflilleksséischmuewelLuxembourgish
- baltasparnė žuvėdraLithuanian
- baltspārnu zīriņšLatvian
- SambyMalagasy
- വെൺചിറകൻ കരി ആളMalayalam
- Burung Camar Bahu PutihMalay
- hvitvingesvartterneNorwegian Bokmål
- witvleugelsternDutch
- kvitvengsvartterneNorwegian Nynorsk
- rybitwa białoskrzydłaPolish
- چٹ پری ٹرنWestern Panjabi
- gaivina-d'asa-brancaPortuguese
- gaivina-de-asa-brancaPortuguese
- trinta-réis-negro-de-asa-brancaPortuguese
- Chirighiţă cu aripi albeRomanian
- Chirighiță cu aripi albeRomanian
- chirighiţa cu aripile albeRomanian
- белокрылая крачкаRussian
- Белокрылая болотная крачкаRussian
- VilgessoadjadirruNorthern Sami
- vilgessoadjačearretNorthern Sami
- čorík bielokrídlySlovak
- Rybár bielokrídlySlovak
- beloperuta čigraSlovenian
- dallëndyshja e detit krahëbardhëAlbanian
- белокрила чиграSerbian
- Belokrila čigraSerbian
- vitvingad tärnaSwedish
- นกนางนวลแกลบดำปีกขาวThai
- ak kanatli sumruTurkish
- Крячок білокрилийUkrainian
- 白翅浮鸥Chinese
- 白翅黑浮鷗Chinese
- 白翅黑燕鷗Chinese
- 白翅黑燕鷗〔白翅浮鷗〕Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the white-winged tern
Other species in the same genus Chlidonias.
Whiskered tern
Chlidonias hybrida
Black tern
Chlidonias niger
Black-fronted tern
Chlidonias albostriatus
CompareWhite-winged tern vs Whiskered ternWhite-winged tern vs Black ternWhite-winged 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 white-winged tern?
The white-winged tern is a small bird of the family Laridae in the order Charadriiformes.
How much does the white-winged tern weigh?
Adults have a representative body mass of 54.2 g, with reported values from 54.1 to 70.3 g.
What does the white-winged tern eat?
The white-winged tern is an aquatic predator and a carnivore that forages in the air.
What habitat does the white-winged tern use?
Its habitat is wetland. It is a migratory bird.
Is the white-winged tern endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
When does the white-winged tern reach sexual maturity?
It reaches sexual maturity at 2 years of age.
Who named the white-winged tern?
Its scientific name, Chlidonias leucopterus, is credited to (Temminck, 1815).
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). White-winged tern (Chlidonias leucopterus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-winged-tern
“White-winged tern (Chlidonias leucopterus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-winged-tern.
@misc{white_winged_tern_2026,
title = {White-winged tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-winged-tern},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}