• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Near Threatened	A2cde+3cde+4cde
2016	Near Threatened	A2cde+3cde+4cde
2012	Near Threatened	A2cde+3cde+4cde
2010	Near Threatened	A2c,d,e; A3c,d,e; A4c,d,e
2008	Near Threatened	A2c,d,e; A3c,d,e; A4c,d,e
2006	Near Threatened
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type	shelf island continent	Average mass	219 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	1,650,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	2,240,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	unknown	unknown	2003
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	2001-2034
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Generation length	11 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The total population has been estimated more than 150,000 individuals (Zavaga et al. unpublished data).

Trend justification: Survey data suggest that moderately rapid declines have occurred.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Chile	extant	native
Colombia	extant	native
Ecuador	extant	native
Panama	extant	vagrant
Peru	extant	native

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Chile	Costa sur de Arica
Chile	Desembocadura del Río Bío-Bío
Chile	Estero Mantagua y Desembocadura del Río Aconcagua
Chile	Humedal de Arauco
Chile	Islote Pupuya
Chile	Islotes Pajaros
Chile	Paradero de aves Roquerios de Laucho y Lisera
Chile	Parque Nacional Pan de Azúcar
Chile	Puerto de Arica
Chile	Reserva Nacional Pingüino de Humboldt - Isla Choros, Damas y Punta de Choros
Chile	Santuario de la Naturaleza Rocas de Constitución
Peru	Laguna de Ite
Peru	Reserva Nacional de Paracas
Peru	Río Tambo y Lagunas de Mejía

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	major	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Tidepools	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Tidepools	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Temperature extremes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Reduced reproductive success
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Inca Tern Larosterna inca. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/inca-tern-larosterna-inca on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.