African Openbill vs Common Tern

Anastomus lamelligerus compared with Sterna hirundo

Key Differences

• African Openbill is Least Concern while Common Tern is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African Openbill	Common Tern
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Ciconiiformes (Ciconiiformes)	Charadriiformes (Charadriiformes)
Family	Ciconiidae	Laridae
Genus	Anastomus	Sterna
Species	Anastomus lamelligerus	Sterna hirundo

Evolutionary Relationship

African Openbill and Common Tern share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

African Openbill

LC — Least Concern

Common Tern

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African Openbill	Common Tern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

African Openbill

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Germany, and Norway.

Common Tern

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 9 distinct biome types spanning the Neotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

African Openbill

The African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) is a species in the genus Anastomus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Common Tern

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. At high risk of extinction in the wild, with significant population decline and ongoing threats to survival.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway