Species › Birds

Little Tern

Sternula albifrons

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Presence in the Strait: Migrant
Abundance: common
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Charrancito común

Marine taxonomy: validated in WoRMS, AphiaID 567480

Photograph: PotMart186, CC BY-SA, vía iNaturalist

Length: 22–24 cm
Wingspan: 48–55 cm
Weight: 55 g

Presence in the Strait

Common migrant along coasts. Records during winter. It used to breed on the Eastern beaches of the Strait.

Identification

The smallest of the terns. Yellow bill with black tip and white forehead in summer. Long narrow wings, flies with very quick wing-beats and dives when fishing. In winter it displays white forecrown, more diffuse hood and a black bill. Juveniles are like adults in winter with dark leading edge of wings and barring on dorsal area.

Movements

Peaks in 2nd hf. April and 2nd hf. August.

Ring recoveries

Seville (1).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

23 %

Peak in May. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 28 March 1978
Latest record: 7 July 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: NT · Near threatened · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

1 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Spain1

See the journey on the map

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
GBIF taxon key: 5789279

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: PotMart186, CC BY-SA, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Little Tern

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery