Kerguelen Tern (Sterna virgata)
About the Kerguelen Tern
The Kerguelen tern (Sterna virgata) is a tern of the Southern Hemisphere. This seabird mainly breeds colonially in the Kerguelen Islands, as its common name implies. However, smaller colonies are also found in the Prince Edward Islands (i.e. Prince Edward and Marion) and Crozet Islands. The total number of individuals is from 3,500 to 6,500 birds, although there is no recent data from the main colony at Kerguelen. These birds do not inhabit Kerguelen proper, instead nesting on islets free of feral cats. During bad weather, they are known to abandon their colonies. Kerguelen terns are among the least-ranging of all typical terns. They generally do not reach far into the seas near their breeding grounds.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 2 recordings for this species: 2 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in France in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Arctic TernSterna paradisaearecording
- Common TernSterna hirundorecording
- Forster's TernSterna forsterirecording
- Roseate TernSterna dougalliirecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.