Life List 074
Visually documented
Forster’s Tern
Sterna forsteri
- First photographed
- June 23, 2026
- First location
- Utah, United States
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
An evolving study
Forster’s Tern portfolio
This collection grows as I return to photograph new behavior, habitat, seasons, and stages of life.
Natural history
Species at a glance
Sterna forsteri
Overview
Forster's Tern is a buoyant, long-winged tern that breeds mainly in inland marshes and winters along coasts. It hovers and plunges into shallow water for small fish.
Identification
Breeding adults have a black cap, orange bill tipped in black, pale gray upperparts, white underparts, and a long forked tail. Winter adults show a distinctive black eye patch on an otherwise white head.
Range
Breeds locally across western and central North America and in some Atlantic and Gulf Coast marshes. It winters along the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf coasts, through Mexico, and into the Caribbean.
Habitat
Freshwater and brackish marshes, prairie wetlands, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, bays, lagoons, and salt ponds.
Diet
Small fish, aquatic insects, crustaceans, and other small aquatic animals.
Photography by Brittany Templin
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