Common tern vs Ivory gull
The ivory gull is heavier: 550 g against 129.2 g for the common tern, about 4.3 times the weight.
Photo: Alexis Lours · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: jomilo75 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
What is the difference between a common tern and a ivory gull?
Each point below is worked out from a pair of recorded values.
- The ivory gull is heavier: 550 g against 129.2 g for the common tern, about 4.3 times the weight.
- The common tern is longer-lived: 33 years against 17 years for the ivory gull, about 94% longer.
- They share the family Laridae but sit in different genera: Common tern in Sterna, Ivory gull in Pagophila.
- The common tern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List; the ivory gull is Near Threatened.
Side by side
| Common tern | Ivory gull | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Sterna hirundo | Pagophila eburnea |
| Family | Laridae | Laridae |
| Order | Charadriiformes | Charadriiformes |
| Weight | 124 g – 129.2 g | 507 g – 617 g |
| Length | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 33 years | 17 years |
| Main food | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Habitat | marine | marine |
| Conservation status | Least Concern | Near Threatened |
| Countries recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
A scale drawing needs a recorded length for both animals; only weights are on record for this pair.
Full record: Common ternFull record: Ivory gullCompare other animals