Scientific Name: Sternula albifrons
Malay Name: Camar Kecil Biasa
Chinese Name: 白额燕鸥
Range: Found from Africa to Europe, temperate Asia, Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia.
Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: albifrons, guineae, sinensis, placens.
Local Subspecies: sinensis
Size: 22-25 cm
Identification: Easily distinguished from Whiskered and White-wing Terns that share same habitat by small size and short-tailed appearance. Non-breeding adult has dark bill, legs and feet, white lores and forecrown, blackish hindcrown with whitish streaks and black nape. Breeding adult has yellow bill with black tip, black crown, nape, eyestripe and well defined white forehead. Juvenile resembles non-breeding adult but has dark subterminal markings on mantle, scapulars, tertials and wing-coverts.
Similar looking species: Whiskered Tern, White-winged Tern
Habitat: Open seas, coastal habitats, mudflats, marshes and reservoirs.
Behaviour/Ecology: Forages by hovering over water surface before diving in with body rarely becomes fully submerged.
Local Status: Common resident
Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2019)
Location: Lorong Halus, Seletar Dam, Jurong Lake Park, Kranji Reservoir, Straits of Johor and Straits of Singapore.
- Pelagic Bird Trip at the Singapore Strait – 20 September 2020 (Trip Reports)
- Pelagic Bird Survey at the Singapore Strait – 5 May 2018 (Trip Reports)
- Pelagic Bird Survey to the Horsburgh Lighthouse – 29 April 2017 (Trip Reports)
- Pelagic Bird Survey at the Singapore Strait – 15 October 2016 (Trip Reports)
- Local extinctions of Singapore birds (Science)
- Checklist Revision for June 2023 (Revisions)
- Identifying Marsh Terns in Singapore (ID Articles)
Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page
Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link
Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link
eBird Species page: eBird (Little Tern)
References:
BirdLife International. (2019). Sternula albifrons. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22694656A155476219.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023
Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.
RECOMMENDED CITATION
Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Little Tern. Retrieved on December 5, 2024 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/little-tern.