White-winged Tern
Photo · (c) Andrew Allen, some rights reserved (CC BY)

BirdUp · Species

White-winged Tern

Chlidonias leucopterus(Temminck, 1815)

Native
Order
CHARADRIIFORMES
Family
Laridae
Commonness
Very common
Best seen
Year-round

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

The white-winged tern or white-winged black tern is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is a small species generally found in or near bodies of fresh water across much of the world, including Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khelidonios, "swallow-like", from khelidon, "swallow".

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

02 · Where

Where to find it

Breeding range
Inland south-central and east Europe and Iraq to south-east Russia, north-east China and north-central Siberia
Non-breeding range
To coastal and inland Africa north and south of Sahara; south-east Asia and east China, Philippines, Indonesian Arch., and coastal New Guinea and Australia

03 · When

When to look

Months this species is recorded across its Australian range.

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

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

The BirdUp app

Log your next White-winged Tern in the field

A pocket field journal for 850+ Australian birds. Offline-first, smart ID, and a lifelist that travels with you.