The large-billed tern is a medium-sized bird with a very large bright yellow beak. It lives along the banks of large rivers in South America and catches fish directly from the water.
The large-billed tern differs from other terns by its unusually large yellow beak and by living near fresh water rather than the sea. It is important for nature because it regulates the population of small fish in rivers.
Worker
birth time
Submerges underwater to reach prey or food at depth.
Heavy rains in summer
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
very hot and very humid all year round, rain almost every day
days
South and Central America, hot and humid, huge forests
Warm summer
Bill count
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
very heavy rains in summer, almost no precipitation in winter
adult
Maturity
fish of small size
South and Central America, hot and humid, huge forests
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
diving
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
all seas and oceans
Trophic type
Filters
small fish
always hot and humid, huge trees and vines
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
Breeding structure built or used for laying eggs and raising offspring.
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
rains almost always, very humid
Age (from birth to death)
Hot, little precipitation in winter
Wanderers
Food items are collected from exposed outer surfaces of substrates.
Wings size
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Warm summer and frequent rains
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
Egg shell count
young after fast growth
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
summer warm, rains frequent
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
hot, there is a dry season, trees shed their leaves
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
Tropical dry broadleaf forest
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
turns
Rascals
terrestrial forest
Flooded grasslands
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Where are they found?
all rivers and lakes
insects living in water or near water — mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies
Low precipitation in winter
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Tropical moist forest
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
carnivore
freshwater pelagic
rivers and streams
if born as {name}
age
grasping from the water surface and shallow diving
birth date
swimming
Close
Egg shell color
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
Neotropical realm
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
surface
primary food sources
Neotropical realm
Potential Habitat
Very hot summer
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
from 130 grams to 0.5 kilograms, 0.35 – 0.8 meters
aquatic
summer very hot, above +25…+30 °C
{name} birthday
aquatic insects
Always hot
No results found
Hot with heavy summer rains
On the map
lunge
all life stages
Female ♀
Down feathers color
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
open water in the water column of a freshwater body, away from the bottom and shore
birth year
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
Legs color
What if eaten?
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
nest
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Marine world
Plumage color
forests on land — tropical, temperate, boreal
water often floods the land, lots of grass
world of Afrotropics
Freshwater
Duration
Always hot and wet
This is me
freshwater
Always very wet
Gamers
hot, heavy rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
How are they built?
shallow near the shore, water rises and falls, crabs live here
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
Bill size
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Warm summer and lots of rain
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
Littoral Zone
flowing fresh waters — rivers, streams, mountain torrents
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Zucchini
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Bill color
Observations
◉{N} more on tap