Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls
Forster’s Tern
Sterna forsteri
- Family
- Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls (Laridae)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Overview
Forster's tern (Sterna forsteri) is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name Sterna is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and forsteri commemorates the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster.
It breeds inland in North America in the northern United States and southern Canada, and migrates south to winter in the southern United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, and northern Central America. It is also a rare but annual vagrant in western Europe, and has wintered in Ireland and Great Britain on a number of occasions.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Breeds inland central Alberta eastward to central Manitoba (south-central Canada) patchily southward to northern Baja California (northwestern Mexico), Colorado, and the Great Lakes, also North Atlantic coast from New Jersey to North Carolina, and Gulf coast southward to northern Tamaulipas (northeastern Mexico); winters to Gulf coast, Bahamas, Cuba, and southern Mexico.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Forster's 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.
