Arctic Tern vs Common Tern

Sterna paradisaea compared with Sterna hirundo

Key Differences

• Arctic Tern is Least Concern while Common Tern is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic Tern	Common Tern
Kingdom same	Animalia (동물)	Animalia (동물)
Phylum same	Chordata (척삭동물)	Chordata (척삭동물)
Class same	Aves (새)	Aves (새)
Order same	Charadriiformes (도요목)	Charadriiformes (도요목)
Family same	Laridae	Laridae
Genus same	Sterna	Sterna
Species	Sterna paradisaea	Sterna hirundo

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Arctic Tern

LC — Least Concern

Common Tern

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic Tern	Common 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).

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.

Arctic Tern

북극제비갈매기(Sterna paradisaea)는 IUCN 적색목록에서 최소관심(LC)으로 분류됩니다. 서식 범위 전역에 걸쳐 널리 분포하고 개체수가 풍부하며, 개체군은 안정적이고 즉각적인 보전 우려는 없습니다.

Common Tern

제비갈매기(Sterna hirundo)는 IUCN 적색목록에서 위기(EN)로 분류된다. 야생에서 멸종 위험이 높으며 상당한 개체수 감소와 생존을 위협하는 요인들이 지속되고 있다.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 7 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States