What Animal Lives Where

Where has the Sandwich Tern been recorded?

Thalasseus sandvicensis occurrence evidence comes from 151,346 records in 55 countries and territories, from 1845 to 2026. Most records come from Sweden.

Sandwich Tern
Sandwich Tern — Photo (display-sized rendition): MPF · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
AvesCharadriiformesLaridaeThalasseus

Observation evidence passport

Evidence found

151,346 records across 55 countries and territories, 1845–2026.

Thalasseus sandvicensis · GBIF taxon key 2481240

Source coverage

CC0 GBIF Animalia occurrence facets, including country, month and year summaries.

Refreshed 2026-08-23. Inspect the taxon on GBIF.

What this means

The species has been recorded in the listed places in the stated source universe. Peak month: July.

7 months reach at least 10% of the peak facet count.

What this does not mean

repeated describes the record pattern, not a formal range, residency, abundance or conservation assessment.

A single record remains evidence of a recording, not proof that a population lives there.

Compare this animal’s observation pattern

When it is recorded

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: July. Records cluster in the months an animal is present and being looked for, so a summer peak can reflect observer effort as much as the animal.

Records over time

18452026

Recording effort has risen steeply almost everywhere since the 1990s, so a rising line usually shows more observers rather than more animals.

Where Sandwich Tern has been recorded

The countries below show where occurrence evidence exists for Sandwich Tern. They do not define a complete habitat range: survey effort differs by place, and historical or one-off records can appear alongside repeated presence.

PlaceRecordsShare
Sweden 141,158
Belgium 7,158
Netherlands 698
United Kingdom 630
United States 627
Spain 480
Colombia 223
Ukraine 63
Mexico 36
South Africa 34
Senegal 24
Ireland 21
Puerto Rico 20
Denmark 19
France 17
Portugal 12
Argentina 10
Brazil 10
Peru 8
Russia 7
Germany 6
Jordan 6
Austria 5
Estonia 5
Namibia 5
Albania 4
Belize 4
Oman 4
Türkiye 4
Uruguay 4
Bonaire 3
Bahamas 3
Costa Rica 3
Israel 3
Italy 3
Panama 3
Dominican Republic 2
Greece 2
Guinea-Bissau 2
Isle of Man 2

Showing the top 40 of 55 places.

Related animals

Others in the family Laridae.

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Common Tern
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519,969 records
Great Black-backed Gull
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Mediterranean Gull
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263,862 records
Arctic Tern
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232,790 records
Record pattern: repeated
Repeated records across many years and months. This is inferred from how many years and months the animal appears in, not from a range map — treat it as evidence, not a formal assessment.