NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
South American Tern
Sterna hirundinacea R. Lesson, 1831
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The South American tern (Sterna hirundinacea) is a species of tern found in coastal regions of southern South America, including the Falkland Islands, ranging north to Peru (Pacific coast) and Brazil (Atlantic coast). It is generally the most common tern in its range. The smaller, highly migratory common tern closely resembles it. The specific epithet refers to the "swallow-like" forked tail feathering.
Wikipedia contributors, South American tern; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:17:42.809637+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sterna hirundinacea R. Lesson, 1831
- Name authority
- R. Lesson, 1831
- Common name
- South American Tern
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Laridae
- Genus
- Sterna
- 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
- genusSterna Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesSterna hirundinacea R. Lesson, 1831
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sterna. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Roseate TernSterna dougallii Montagu, 1813 | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-bellied TernSterna acuticauda J. E. Gray, 1831 | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Arctic TernSterna paradisaea Pontoppidan, 1763 | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=176910 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:6ZSD6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.