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Common Tern
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Habitat and behaviour
Habitat: Coasts, lakes, landfills.
Diet: Fish, scraps, invertebrates.
Best time to spot: Year-round, flocks.
When to look
Check local eBird bar charts for timing in your state; range and season vary a lot across the US. Numbers peak in May.
How rare is it?
The Common Tern sits in our Uncommon tier for the US: regular, but you usually need the right place or the right season. It belongs to the gulls, terns, and skimmers family.
Recent US sightings
No community sightings logged for this species yet. Log the first one.
Similar birds
- Sandwich TernUncommon · Coasts
- Arctic TernRare · Coasts
- Forster's TernCommon · Coasts
- Roseate TernRare · Northeast islands
- American Herring GullUncommon · Coasts
- Black TernUncommon · Coasts
Kit that helps
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