Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls
Black-bellied Tern
Sterna acuticauda
- Family
- Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls (Laridae)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Overview
The black-bellied tern (Sterna acuticauda) is a tern found near large rivers in the Indian subcontinent, its range extending from Pakistan, Nepal and India to Myanmar. It has become very scarce in the eastern part of its range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being endangered.
They have a black belly in the summer and a deep forked tail. They can sometimes resemble whiskered terns (Chlidonias hybrida), but the deeper fork of the tail and the black on the lower belly distinguish them from the shallow fork and black closer to the breast on the whiskered tern.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Inland Indus Valley (Pakistan), sub-Himalayan India and Irrawaddy River (central Myanmar); formerly to southern China and Vietnam.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Black-bellied tern
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
