The common tern is a medium-sized bird with long sharp wings and a forked tail. It lives near rivers, lakes, and seas, catches fish and insects, and flies to warm regions for winter.
The common tern differs from other terns with its long red bill and deeply forked tail. It is important for nature because it eats a lot of small fish and insects and serves as an indicator of water body purity.
Worker
birth time
Submerges underwater to reach prey or food at depth.
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
lots of rain, warm summer, snow in winter
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
crustaceans
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.
small planktonic crustaceans — copepods, krill
adult
Maturity
fish of small size
insects
About health
marine coastal
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
aerial
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
diving
mo
live fish
all seas and oceans
Trophic type
Filters
small fish
Palearctic realm
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
Breeding structure built or used for laying eggs and raising offspring.
Winter with snow
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
Height
rains almost always, very humid
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Age (embryo)
alpine meadows and subalpine meadows in mountains
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Wanderers
Feeding occurs in open air space above ground or water.
Wings size
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
young after fast growth
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
Wings color
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
fish
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
where the river flows into the sea, slightly salty water, lots of fish and birds
flight
65 to 130 grams, 25 – 60 centimeters
Pets
Nearctic realm
Lots of rain and cool summer
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Wingspan
turns
Rascals
terrestrial forest
Tail color
Flooded grasslands
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
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
lots of rain, cool summer, snow in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
carnivore
if born as {name}
age
birth date
Palearctic realm
Close
Egg shell color
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
Beak size
Potential Habitat
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
cold winter, lots of coniferous trees: spruce, pine
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
Gestation
aquatic
{name} birthday
Nearctic realm
No results found
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
On the map
Pleasant summer
Female ♀
all life stages
world of Afrotropics
high-mountain tundra above the tree line
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.
Beak count
birth year
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
Beak color
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
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?
alpine meadow
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Marine world
Lots of rain and warm summer
from birth to death
much snow in winter, cold
highland tundra
Plumage color
forests on land — tropical, temperate, boreal
water often floods the land, lots of grass
world of Afrotropics
River estuary into the sea
Freshwater
Temperate mixed forest
Duration
live insects
saline marine habitat
This is me
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
freshwater
Always very wet
Gamers
How are they built?
marine
shallow near the shore, water rises and falls, crabs live here
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
coastal marine zone — shelf, neritic zone
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Taiga
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
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}
Littoral Zone
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
Down covering color
Capturing or collecting food while airborne.
whole life
Hermaphrodite ⚥
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
embryo
Carrot
summer warm, many oaks, birches, maples
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Observations
◉{N} more on tap