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

Taxonomic note
Sternula saundersi (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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
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	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	11,700,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	17,800,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	poor	estimated	2009
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	11 years	-	-	-

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be in decline owing to disturbance and predation at breeding sites (del Hoyo et al. 1996).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Bahrain	extant	native		yes		yes
Djibouti	extant	native
Egypt	extant	uncertain
Eritrea	extant	native
India	extant	native	yes
Iran, Islamic Republic of	extant	native	yes
Iraq	extant	uncertain
Israel	extant	vagrant
Kenya	extant	native
Kuwait	extant	native				yes
Madagascar	extant	native
Maldives	extant	native	yes
Oman	extant	native	yes			yes
Pakistan	extant	native	yes
Qatar	extant	native	yes
Saudi Arabia	extant	native	yes
Seychelles	extant	native	yes
Somalia	extant	native	yes
Sri Lanka	extant	native	yes
Sudan	extant	native		yes	yes
Tanzania	extant	native
United Arab Emirates	extant	native		yes		yes
Yemen	extant	native	yes			yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Bahrain	Hawar Islands
Iran, Islamic Republic of	Bahu Kalat (Gandu) Protected Area
Iran, Islamic Republic of	Bushire Bay
Iran, Islamic Republic of	Faror islands
Iran, Islamic Republic of	Hormoz island
Iran, Islamic Republic of	Nakhilu, Morghu and Ummal Karam islands
Kenya	Mida Creek, Whale Island and the Malindi - Watamu coast
Kenya	Sabaki River Mouth
Kenya	Tana River Delta
Madagascar	Ambavanankarana wetland
Oman	Barr al Hikman
Oman	Khor Dirif
Oman	Masirah island
Oman	Ras al Hadd
Saudi Arabia	Abu Ali
Saudi Arabia	Farasan Islands
Saudi Arabia	Gulf coral islands
Saudi Arabia	Madinat Yanbu al-Sinaiyah
Tanzania	Dar es Salaam coast
Tanzania	Rufiji Delta
Tanzania	Zanzibar Island-East Coast
United Arab Emirates	Abu Al Abyad Island
United Arab Emirates	Alqurm Wa Lehfeiyah (Khor Kalba)
United Arab Emirates	Ghagha Island
United Arab Emirates	Salahah Island
United Arab Emirates	Sir Bani Yas Islands
United Arab Emirates	Yasat Island
Yemen	Al-'Urj
Yemen	Al-Mukha - Al-Khawkhah

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	suitable	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Freshwater Lakes	suitable	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Freshwater Lakes	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	suitable	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Mud Flats and Salt Flats	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Mud Flats and Salt Flats	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Intertidal	Tidepools	suitable	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Tidepools	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Estuaries	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Estuaries	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	marginal	resident
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	suitable	non-breeding
Altitude		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		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success
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

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Saunders's Tern Sternula saundersi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/saunderss-tern-sternula-saundersi on 22/11/2024.
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 22/11/2024.