Aleutian Tern

Open encyclopedia reference

The Aleutian tern (Onychoprion aleuticus) is a migratory bird living in the subarctic region of the globe most of the year. It is frequently associated with the Arctic tern, which it closely resembles. While both species have a black cap, the Aleutian tern may be distinguished by its white forehead (although juvenile Arctic terns also have white foreheads). During breeding season, the Arctic terns have bright red bills, feet, and legs while those of the Aleutian terns are black.

Onychoprion aleuticus has not been thoroughly studied yet. If its winter migratory range was completely unknown until the late 1980s; it is now known that many Aleutian terns spend the winter near the Equator in the western Pacific. The Aleutian tern breeds in wide-ranging coastal colonies only in Alaska and eastern Siberia. Although Alaskan and Siberian populations are not well monitored, both are thought to be in significant decline.

Wikipedia contributors, Aleutian tern; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:10:23.730659+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Onychoprion aleuticus (S. F. Baird, 1869)

Name authority

(S. F. Baird, 1869)

Common name

Aleutian Tern

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae

Genus

Onychoprion

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderCharadriiformes
10. familyLaridae
11. genusOnychoprion Wagler, 1832
12. speciesOnychoprion aleuticus (S. F. Baird, 1869)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Onychoprion. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 76 records assigned to Laridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=824103 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:49RDY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.