Larosterna inca
Silhouette: Juan Carlos Jerí · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The Inca tern (Larosterna inca) is a near-threatened species of tern in the subfamily Sterninae of the family Laridae (the gulls, terns, and skimmers). It is found along the Pacific coasts of Chile, Ecuador and Perú, and has appeared as a vagrant in Central America and Hawaii.
The Inca tern is the sole member of its monotypic genus Larosterna, and has no accepted subspecies. Perhaps surprisingly given its highly distinct plumage, the Inca tern is not particularly basal among the terns, being more closely related to typical Sterna terns than any of the superficially much more similar genera Gelochelidon, Hydroprogne, Onychoprion, Phaetusa, or Sternula are.
The Inca tern is roughly 39 to 42 cm (15 to 17 in) long and weighs between 180 to 210 g (6.3 to 7.4 oz). Its plumage is uniquely colored among terns; adults have a mostly dark, slate-gray body, with paler underwing coverts, and a slightly paler throat. A white stripe extends back from the base of the bill and fans out like a Salvador Dalíesque mustache as long, satiny feathers along the side of the neck. The trailing edge of the wing (the tips of the secondaries and the three inner... Wikipedia →
Call0:11
Peru · 2019
© Monica · XC506530 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Song0:38
Chile · 2019
© Gonzalo Labarrera Valdivieso · XC501890 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:16
Peru · 2022
© jocean · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Machalilla National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lima | 🇵🇪 Peru |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SeaWorld Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 4 | SeaWorld Abu Dhabi | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 5 | Copenhagen Zoo | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 6 | Natura Artis Magistra | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 7 | Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Zürich Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 9 | Lisbon Oceanarium | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 10 | Planckendael Zoo | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 11 | Le Pal | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Zlín-Lešná Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 13 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 14 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 15 | Zoologic park de Lille | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 16 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 17 | Zoo de Doué | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 18 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 19 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Brookfield Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | Sedgwick County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 22 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 23 | Milwaukee County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 24 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 25 | Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 26 | Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 27 | Rostock Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 28 | Louisville Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 29 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 30 | Caldwell Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 31 | ZooTampa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 32 | Fort Worth Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 33 | Oregon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 34 | San Antonio Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 35 | Great Plains Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 36 | Cameron Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 37 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 38 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 39 | Fresno Chaffee Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 40 | Beale Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 41 | Ouwehands Dierenpark | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 42 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 43 | El Paso Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 44 | Rosamond Gifford Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 45 | Lincoln Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 46 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 47 | Krefelder Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 48 | NaturZoo Rheine | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 49 | Heidelberg Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 50 | Vogelpark Avifauna | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Inca Tern sighting in Machalilla National Park on a given day, based on 101 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 85th most-seen of the 248 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Inca Tern in Machalilla National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to March, the lowest months. Those are among Machalilla National Park's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 140 mm in February.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Inca 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.
Only Machalilla National Park, in our data
Machalilla National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Inca Tern sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Laridae
The closest relatives of the Inca Tern that you can see in Machalilla National Park (family Laridae, Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers) are Laughing Gull (about 10%), Royal Tern (about 10%) and Elegant Tern (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Inca Tern is recorded against all the birds logged in Machalilla National Park (101 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.
