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

Taxonomic note
Sternula lorata (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) was previously placed in the genus Sterna.

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
-	C2a(i)	B2ab(ii,iii,iv,v); C2a(i); D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Endangered	C2a(i)
2016	Endangered	C2a(i)
2012	Endangered	C2a(i)
2010	Endangered	C2a(i)
2008	Endangered	C2a(i)
2006	Endangered
2005	Endangered
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	67,600 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	1,030,000 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	21 km2	good
Number of locations	6-10	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	600-1700 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2005
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	1983-2010
Generation length	9 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2-100	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: Estimates range from 100 pairs (G. Engblom in litt. 2005) to 5,000 pairs (M. Plenge in litt. 1999). Given that there are still unsurveyed sandy beaches away from the Pan-American Highway, the total is perhaps likely to fall in the range of 1,000-2,499 individuals. This equates to 667-1,666 mature individuals, rounded here to 600-1,700 individuals.

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be declining on the basis of continued destruction and degradation of breeding habitat, disappearance of breeding colonies in the last 30 years (e.g. Puerto Viejo and Mollendo in Peru) and population decline in some localities (Pampa Mejillones and La Portada in Chile).

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

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Chile	Bahía de Mejillones
Chile	Chacalluta
Chile	Desembocadura del Río Loa
Chile	Playa Hornitos
Chile	Puerto Viejo
Ecuador	Lagunas de Ecuasal-Salinas
Peru	Laguna de Ite
Peru	Laguna El Paraíso
Peru	Manglares de San Pedro - Vice
Peru	Reserva Nacional de Paracas
Peru	Río Tambo y Lagunas de Mejía

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Desert	Hot	suitable	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	suitable	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Sand Dunes	major	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	marginal	resident
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Scale Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success
Climate change & severe weather	Temperature extremes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Energy production & mining	Oil & gas drilling	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Canis familiaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Abstraction of surface water (agricultural use)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Residential & commercial development	Commercial & industrial areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Residential & commercial development	Tourism & recreation areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Peruvian Tern Sternula lorata. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/peruvian-tern-sternula-lorata on 23/12/2024.
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 23/12/2024.