Little Tern
Sternula albifrons
The little tern is a small seabird of the family Laridae. It is widely distributed breeding on the coasts and inland waterways of Europe, Asia, north and west Africa, and eastern Australia. It winters in the subtropical and tropical oceans as far south as South Africa and Australia. Source
Where it is now
In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 1,289 times across 22 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).
See the Little Tern on the live map
Arrival dates
The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.
| Region | First arrival | Last arrival | Typical peak | Areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 20 July 2026 | 20 July 2026 | 21 September 2026 | 1 |
Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.