Sterna vittata
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The Antarctic tern (Sterna vittata) is a seabird in the family Laridae. It ranges throughout the southern oceans and is found on small islands around Antarctica as well as on the shores of the mainland. Its diet consists primarily of small fish and crustaceans. It is very similar in appearance to the closely related Arctic tern, but it is stockier, and it is in its breeding plumage in the southern summer, when the Arctic tern has shed old feathers to get its non-breeding plumage. The Antarctic tern does not migrate like the Arctic tern does, but it can still be found on a very large range. This tern species is actually more closely related to the South American tern.
Gulls, skuas and jaegers are the primary predators of the bird's eggs and young. The Antarctic tern can be further divided into six subspecies. The total global population of this bird is around 140,000 individuals. The Antarctic tern was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other terns in the genus Sterna and coined the binomial name Sterna vittata. Gmelin based his description...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | 🇬🇸 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | |
| 2 | Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands | 🇦🇶 Antarctica | |
| 3 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Very likely
About 90% of wildlife watchers report an Antarctic Tern sighting in Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands on a given day, based on 2,454 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 29 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October to February
In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report an Antarctic Tern in Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands on a given day, against about 70% in March, the lowest month. April to September have too few records to rate.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Antarctic Tern sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Antarctic Tern sightings, Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands ranks 2nd at about 90%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, about 90%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Antarctic Tern is recorded against all the birds logged in Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands (2,454 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
