Status and distribution Widespread and common, breeding range more northerly than Common Tern but much overlap. Breeds in Iceland, Faroes and British Is (mainly north & west), North Sea coasts from Netherlands to to Denmark coastal Fenno-Scandia, the Baltic States and northern Russia. In the far north breeds on Svalbard, Bear I and Franz Josef Land, possibly also Jan Mayen and Novaya Zemlya. Mainly coastal but breeds inland in Iceland and northern Fenno-Scandia. Numbers and range decreasing in the south, particularly British Is. Has bred Brittany, Belgium and Poland.

Passage birds seen mainly off north-western coasts of Europe, in the Baltic and North Seas, off British Is and Atlantic coasts south to Iberia and North-West Africa. Leave breeding grounds late Jul, passage continues into Oct, return in Apr-May. Most winter in the Antarctic and undertake the longest migrations of any bird.

Vagrants have been recorded inland in Hungary and elsewhere in Central Europe.

Habitat More coastal than Common Tern at all times but some breeding occurs inland on wet tundra or banks and islands in rivers. Most breed on bare rocky or sparsely vegetated islands, coastal saltmarshes and tundra or shingle and sandy beaches. Some occur at inland freshwaters on migration but passage is mainly coastal or offshore.