Anthracite Bee-fly vs Common Tern

Anthrax anthrax compared with Sterna hirundo

Key Differences

• Anthracite Bee-fly is Least Concern while Common Tern is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Anthracite Bee-fly	Common Tern
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Charadriiformes (Charadriiformes)
Family	Bombyliidae	Laridae
Genus	Anthrax	Sterna
Species	Anthrax anthrax	Sterna hirundo

Evolutionary Relationship

Anthracite Bee-fly and Common Tern share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Anthracite Bee-fly

LC — Least Concern

Common Tern

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Anthracite Bee-fly	Common Tern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Anthracite Bee-fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

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.

Anthracite Bee-fly

The Anthracite Bee-fly (Anthrax anthrax) is a species in the genus Anthrax. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

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 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden