NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black Tern
Chlidonias niger (Linnaeus, 1758)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Hrušovská zdrž
Andrej Chudý from Slovakia · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The black tern (Chlidonias niger) is a small tern generally found in or near inland water that breeds in Europe, Western Asia and North America. In winter the birds migrate to coastal areas of Africa and South America.
Wikipedia contributors, Black tern; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:55:42.497551+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Chlidonias niger (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Black Tern
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Laridae
- Genus
- Chlidonias
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyLaridae
- genusChlidonias Rafinesque, 1822
- speciesChlidonias niger (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Chlidonias. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-fronted TernChlidonias albostriatus (G. R. Gray, 1845) | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterus (Temminck, 1815) | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida (Pallas, 1811) | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Chilidonias niger (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China)
North America
Oceania
Southern Asia
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=176959 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:5Y972. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.