Antarctic Tern
Sterna vittata Gmelin, JF, 1789
Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers
Antarctic Tern, Sterna vittata, is a seabird of the Southern Ocean, breeding on subantarctic and Antarctic islands, across the South Atlantic, South Indian and western South Pacific, and on the Antarctic Peninsula. It is also found on small islands near Antarctica and along the mainland shore. It is a member of the Laridae family. It is similar to the Arctic tern, but is stockier, and it is in breeding plumage during the southern summer when the Arctic tern is in non-breeding plumage. It does not migrate like the Arctic tern.
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers
- Breeding range
- Southern Ocean: widespread, subantarctic and Antarctic is., South Atlantic, South Indian, w South Pacific and Antarctic Pen.
