Autumn Snowflake vs Common Tern

Acis autumnalis compared with Sterna hirundo

Key Differences

• Autumn Snowflake is Least Concern while Common Tern is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Autumn Snowflake	Common Tern
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Asparagales (Asparagales)	Charadriiformes (Charadriiformes)
Family	Amaryllidaceae	Laridae
Genus	Acis	Sterna
Species	Acis autumnalis	Sterna hirundo

Conservation Status

Autumn Snowflake

LC — Least Concern

Common Tern

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Autumn Snowflake	Common Tern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Autumn Snowflake

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Found in 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.

Autumn Snowflake

The Autumn Snowflake (Acis autumnalis) is a species in the genus Acis. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

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 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway