Data Zone
Taxonomic note
Thalasseus sandvicensis (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) was previously placed in the genus Sterna.
Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Least Concern | |
| 2018 | Least Concern | |
| 2016 | Least Concern | |
| 2012 | Least Concern | |
| 2009 | Least Concern | |
| 2008 | Least Concern | |
| 2004 | Least Concern | |
| 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 | Average mass | 192 g |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) | 98,800,000 km2 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) | 164,000,000 km2 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | 325000-430000 mature individuals | poor | estimated | 2012 |
| Population trend | stable | - | suspected | - |
| Generation length | 10.8 years | - | - | - |
Population justification: The global population is estimated at 490,000-640,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2015). This roughly equates to 325,000-430,000 mature individuals. Within this, the European population is estimated at 79,900-148,000 pairs, which equates to 160,000-295,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International 2015).
Trend justification: The overall population trend is fluctuating, although some populations are stable, others have unknown trends (Wetlands International 2015). In North America, this species has undergone a small or non-significant increase over the last 40 years (based on Partners in Flight; A. Panjabi in litt. 2017). The European population is fluctuating (BirdLife International 2015).
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Algeria | extant | native | ||||
| Angola | extant | native | ||||
| Anguilla (to UK) | extant | native | ||||
| Antigua and Barbuda | extant | native | ||||
| Argentina | extant | native | ||||
| Aruba (to Netherlands) | extant | native | ||||
| Azerbaijan | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Bahamas | extant | native | ||||
| Bahrain | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Barbados | extant | native | ||||
| Belgium | extant | native | yes | |||
| Belize | extant | native | ||||
| Benin | extant | native | ||||
| Bermuda (to UK) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Brazil | extant | native | ||||
| Bulgaria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Cameroon | extant | native | ||||
| Cape Verde | extant | native | ||||
| Cayman Islands (to UK) | extant | native | ||||
| Chile | extant | native | ||||
| Colombia | extant | native | ||||
| Congo | extant | native | ||||
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | extant | native | ||||
| Costa Rica | extant | native | yes | |||
| Côte d'Ivoire | extant | native | ||||
| Croatia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Cuba | extant | native | ||||
| Curaçao (to Netherlands) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Cyprus | extant | native | yes | |||
| Czechia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Denmark | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Djibouti | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Dominica | extant | native | ||||
| Dominican Republic | extant | native | ||||
| Ecuador | extant | native | ||||
| Egypt | extant | native | ||||
| El Salvador | extant | native | ||||
| Equatorial Guinea | extant | native | yes | |||
| Eritrea | extant | native | ||||
| Estonia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Ethiopia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Faroe Islands (to Denmark) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Finland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| France | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| French Guiana | extant | native | ||||
| Gabon | extant | native | ||||
| Gambia | extant | native | ||||
| Georgia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Germany | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Ghana | extant | native | ||||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Greece | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Grenada | extant | native | ||||
| Guadeloupe (to France) | extant | native | ||||
| Guatemala | extant | native | ||||
| Guinea | extant | native | ||||
| Guinea-Bissau | extant | native | ||||
| Guyana | extant | native | ||||
| Haiti | extant | native | ||||
| Honduras | extant | uncertain | ||||
| Hungary | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Iceland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| India | extant | native | ||||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Iraq | extant | native | yes | |||
| Ireland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Israel | extant | native | ||||
| Italy | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Jamaica | extant | native | ||||
| Jordan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Kazakhstan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Kenya | extant | native | ||||
| Kuwait | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Latvia | extant | native | ||||
| Lebanon | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Liberia | extant | native | ||||
| Libya | extant | native | ||||
| Malta | extant | native | yes | |||
| Martinique (to France) | extant | native | ||||
| Mauritania | extant | native | ||||
| Mexico | extant | native | ||||
| Montenegro | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Montserrat (to UK) | extant | native | ||||
| Morocco | extant | native | ||||
| Mozambique | extant | native | ||||
| Namibia | extant | native | ||||
| Netherlands | extant | native | yes | |||
| Nicaragua | extant | native | ||||
| Nigeria | extant | native | ||||
| North Macedonia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Norway | extant | native | yes | |||
| Oman | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Pakistan | extant | native | ||||
| Palestine | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Panama | extant | native | ||||
| Peru | extant | native | ||||
| Poland | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Portugal | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Puerto Rico (to USA) | extant | native | ||||
| Qatar | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Romania | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Russia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia (European) | extant | native | yes | |||
| São Tomé e Príncipe | extant | native | ||||
| Saudi Arabia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Senegal | extant | native | ||||
| Serbia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Seychelles | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Sierra Leone | extant | native | ||||
| Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) | extant | uncertain | ||||
| Slovakia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Slovenia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Somalia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| South Africa | extant | native | ||||
| Spain | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Sri Lanka | extant | native | ||||
| St Barthelemy (to France) | extant | native | ||||
| St Kitts and Nevis | extant | native | ||||
| St Lucia | extant | native | ||||
| St Martin (to France) | extant | uncertain | ||||
| St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | extant | native | ||||
| Sudan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Suriname | extant | native | ||||
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Sweden | extant | native | yes | |||
| Switzerland | extant | native | ||||
| Syria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Tanzania | extant | native | ||||
| Togo | extant | native | ||||
| Trinidad and Tobago | extant | native | ||||
| Tunisia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Türkiye | extant | native | yes | |||
| Turkmenistan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Ukraine | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| United Arab Emirates | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| United Kingdom | extant | native | yes | |||
| Uruguay | extant | native | yes | |||
| USA | extant | native | yes | |||
| Venezuela | extant | native | ||||
| Virgin Islands (to UK) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Virgin Islands (to USA) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Western Sahara | extant | native | ||||
| Yemen | extant | native | yes | yes |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine Intertidal | Mud Flats and Salt Flats | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Rocky Shoreline | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc | major | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Coral Reef - Back Slope | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Coral Reef - Foreslope (Outer Reef Slope) | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Coral Reef - Inter-Reef Rubble Substrate | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Coral Reef - Inter-Reef Soft Substrate | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Coral Reef - Lagoon | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Coral Reef - Outer Reef Channel | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Estuaries | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Estuaries | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Oceanic | Epipelagic (0-200m) | marginal | resident |
| Marine Oceanic | Mesopelagic (200-1000m) | marginal | resident |
| Altitude | 0 - 50 m | Occasional altitudinal limits |
| Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target) | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|
| Food - human | subsistence, national |
| Sport hunting/specimen collecting | subsistence, national |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/sandwich-tern-thalasseus-sandvicensis 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.