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Arctic Tern | Daily Animal Facts

Animal profile

Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaea

AvesArctic and subarctic coasts and tundra in summer, Antarctic pack ice edge in the southern summerLeast Concern

Field profile

The Arctic tern is a small, long-winged seabird with a blood-red bill and deeply forked tail. It breeds around the Arctic and spends the northern winter in Antarctic waters. Its annual migration is the longest regularly undertaken by any animal.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-11-23

Arctic Tern

The Arctic tern makes the longest animal migration

Tracking devices fitted to Arctic terns revealed round trips far longer than the straight-line distance suggests, because the birds loop and detour with the winds. Annual totals above seventy thousand kilometres have been recorded, and some individual routes exceed ninety thousand.

Read with evidence →