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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Laridae
  4. ›
  5. Onychoprion
  6. ›
  7. Bridled Tern
Bridled Tern
Photo · (c) John Witton, some rights reserved (CC BY)

BirdUp · Species

Bridled Tern

Onychoprion anaethetus(Scopoli, 1786)

Updated 11 June 2026

Origin: Native
Order
CHARADRIIFORMES
Family
Laridae
Genus
Onychoprion

At a glance

The Bridled Tern is a medium-sized bird, about 30–32 cm long, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Size
30–32 cm
Origin
Native
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Very common
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Voice
  • Behaviour
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

What does a Bridled Tern look like?

The Bridled Tern is a medium-sized bird, about 30–32 cm long and weighing 95–177 g.

The bridled tern is a seabird of the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus comes from onux meaning "claw" or "nail", and prion, meaning "saw". The specific anaethetus means "senseless, stupid".

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Length
30–32 cm
Weight
95–177 g
Wingspan
77 cm

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Bridled Tern?

The Bridled Tern is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

04 · Voice

What it sounds like

Call

Sam Hambly · Western Australia, AU

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

What does a Bridled Tern eat?

The Bridled Tern feeds on fish/invertebrates, usually foraging in flocks.

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

5 photos

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Bridled Tern live in Australia?

The Bridled Tern is native to Australia, recorded across 29 of Australia’s bioregions, with a core range spanning trO.

BreedingTrO : widespread tropical and subtropical is., mostly near continents (except east Polynesia and Hawaiian Is. and other remote is.)

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Breeding
  • Passage
  • Resident
  • Vagrant

7 regions recorded