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Bird

Common Tern

Sterna hirundo

A winter visitor to Alabama, found in all 67 counties and 6 habitats.

Here
Winter and on migration
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
6

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
Winter and on migration
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
6
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 6

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 6

Coastal dunes and beaches

White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola
SummerWinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Florida Panhandle Beach Vegetation; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal WetlandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Shown: Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, a neighboring state.White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

On the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida"
SummerWinterMartin Johnson Heade, On the San Sebastian River (c. 1883-90): a tidal river winding through flat marsh under storm clouds at sunset. Shown: San Sebastian River, St. Augustine, Florida, a neighboring state.On the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1883-1890. Public domain. Source record.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise"
SummerOpen Water (Fresh)Martin Johnson Heade, Florida Sunrise: still water and a palm-fringed shore glowing at dawn. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Heade, Florida Sunrise, c. 1890-1900), a neighboring state.Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1890-1900. Public domain. Source record.

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Fort George Island, Florida
SummerWinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)Thomas Moran, Fort George Island (1878): a tidal shore of wet sand and shallow water at the river mouth, with cabbage palms and a beached ship. Shown: Fort George Island, Florida (Thomas Moran, 1878; Smithsonian American Art Museum), a neighboring state.Fort George Island, Florida, Thomas Moran, 1878. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Summer

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

WinterMississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh
Other habitats in its models (21)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (16)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer.
  • Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Louisiana Beach Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Shell Hash Beach Winter.
  • Southeast Florida Beach Winter.
  • Southwest Florida Beach Winter.
  • Texas Coastal Bend Beach Winter.
  • Upper Texas Coast Beach Winter.
Northeast (3)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Summer.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dune and Swale Summer.
Land cover and other classes (2)
  • Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

  • Migratory: does not nest here, in all 67 counties.
  • Winter: does not nest here, in 1 of 67 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Birds 118

Plants 134

All of coastal dunes and beaches in Alabama

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Birds 84

Plants 35

All of coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated) in Alabama

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Birds 74

Plants 11

All of sounds, bays and tidal flats in Alabama

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources