Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls
Greater Crested Tern
Thalasseus bergii
- Family
- Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls (Laridae)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Overview
The greater crested tern (Thalasseus bergii), also called crested tern, swift tern, or great crested tern, is a tern in the family Laridae that nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World. Its four or five subspecies breed in the area from South Africa around the Indian Ocean to the central Pacific and Australia, all populations dispersing widely from the breeding range after nesting. This large tern is closely related to other species in its genus, but can be distinguished by its darker, battleship-grey upperparts, white forehead even in full breeding plumage, and greenish-tinged yellow (not orange or black) bill colour.
The greater crested tern has dark grey upperparts, white underparts, a yellow bill, and a shaggy black crest that recedes in winter.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Countries
- Australia
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Brunei
- Cambodia
- China
- Comoros
- Cook Islands
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Fiji
- French Polynesia
- Guam
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Japan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Laos
- Madagascar
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Mayotte
- Micronesia
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- Norfolk Island
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Philippines
- Reunion
- Samoa
- Saudi Arabia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Taiwan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- United Arab Emirates
- Vanuatu
- Vietnam
- Yemen
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Greater crested 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.