Arctic Tern vs River Tern

Sterna paradisaea compared with Sterna aurantia

Key Differences

• Arctic Tern is Least Concern while River Tern is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic Tern	River Tern
Kingdom same	Animalia (hewan)	Animalia (hewan)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (burung)	Aves (burung)
Order same	Charadriiformes (Charadriiformes)	Charadriiformes (Charadriiformes)
Family same	Laridae	Laridae
Genus same	Sterna	Sterna
Species	Sterna paradisaea	Sterna aurantia

Evolutionary Relationship

Arctic Tern and River Tern share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Sterna.

Conservation Status

Arctic Tern

LC — Least Concern

River Tern

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic Tern	River Tern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic Tern

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador).

River Tern

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Norway. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway