Gull-billed Tern
CR

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica

UnknownLCEULCEU

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gull-billed_tern

Overview

The gull-billed tern is a tern in the family Laridae. It is widely distributed and breeds in scattered localities in Europe, Asia, northwest Africa, and the Americas. The Australian gull-billed tern was previously considered a subspecies.

The Gull-billed Tern faces severe population declines primarily due to habitat loss and degradation of coastal wetlands, nesting sites, and feeding areas. Human disturbance at breeding colonies, coastal development, and climate change impacts on sea levels and prey availability are driving this species toward extinction.

Threat summary

Habitat

It breeds in warmer parts of the world in southern Europe, temperate and eastern Asia, both coasts of North America, eastern South America. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in size and minor plumage details.

All forms show a post-breeding dispersal, but the northern breeders are most migratory, wintering south to Africa, the Caribbean and northern South America,...

FRESHWATER· majorMARINE· majorTERRESTRIAL· major

Other threatened species in Laridae

Greater Black-backed GullVU

Greater Black-backed Gull

Larus marinus

Unknown
Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed GullVU

Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gull

Larus fuscus

Unknown
Caspian TernCR

Caspian Tern

Hydroprogne caspia

Unknown
Little GullCR

Little Gull

Hydrocoloeus minutus

Unknown

Frequently asked questions

Why is Gull-billed Tern classified as Critically Endangered?
Gull-billed Tern is classified as Critically Endangered — facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild — because population sizes are very small, declining sharply, or restricted to a tiny range. The Gull-billed Tern faces severe population declines primarily due to habitat loss and degradation of coastal wetlands, nesting sites, and feeding areas. Human disturbance at breeding colonies, coastal development, and climate change impacts on sea levels and prey availability are driving this species toward extinction.
Where does Gull-billed Tern live?
Gull-billed Tern occurs in across multiple regions. Country-level distribution data is sourced from the IUCN Red List and cross-referenced with GBIF occurrences.
What are the main threats to Gull-billed Tern?
The main threats to Gull-billed Tern are ai-1, ai-2, ai-3, and ai-4. The full IUCN-classified threat record for this species is detailed on the species page.

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