Little Tern

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Habitat and behaviour

Habitat: Coastal shingle (summer).
Diet: Small fish.
Best time to spot: Tiny, hovers before plunging.

When to look

A summer visitor, typically in the UK from May to August. Numbers peak in June. See the June birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in British seabirds.

Taller bars mean more birds about. Grey means it is usually absent.

How rare is it?

The Little Tern sits in our Rare tier for the UK: scarce or very local, so most birders need a planned trip. It is Amber-listed in Birds of Conservation Concern 5, the middle level of concern in the UK. It is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so it is an offence to disturb it at or near the nest. We blur the location of every sighting of this species.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Least TernLegendary · Tern colonies (extreme vagrant)
• Northern WheatearUncommon · Open uplands
• Sandwich TernUncommon · Coastal colonies (summer)
• Western House MartinCommon · Villages
• American Golden PloverRare · Coastal turf (autumn passage)
• Arctic WarblerRare · Coastal scrub (vagrant)

Kit that helps

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