Anguilla,Australia,Bahamas,Bahrain,Barbados,Belize,British Virgin Islands,Cambodia,Canada,China, Colombia,Costa Rica,Cuba,Denmark,Djibouti,Dominican Republic,Ecuador - mainland,Egypt,Equatorial Guinea,Eritrea, Ethiopia,Gabon,Gambia,Greece,Guinea-Bissau,Haiti,Honduras,Hong Kong,India - Andaman and Nicobar Islands,India - mainland, Indonesia,Iran,Iraq,Ireland,Israel,Jamaica,Japan,Jordan,Kenya,Kuwait, Liberia,Madagascar,Malaysia,Maldives,Marshall Islands,Mauritania,Mauritius,Mexico,Micronesia,Myanmar, Netherlands Antilles,New Caledonia,Nicaragua,Nigeria,Oman,Pakistan,Palau,Panama,Papua New Guinea,Philippines, Portugal,Puerto Rico,Qatar,Saint Lucia,Samoa,Sao Tome and Principe,Saudi Arabia,Senegal,Seychelles,Singapore, Solomon Islands,Somalia,South Sudan,Spain,Sri Lanka,Sudan,Taiwan,Tanzania,Thailand,Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago,Turks and Caicos Islands,Tuvalu,United Arab Emirates,United States - mainland,Venezuela,Vietnam,Virgin Islands,Western Sahara,Yemen,
IOC 13.1 Subspecies
Group
Subspecies
Breeding Range
melanopterus
islets throughout Caribbean Sea from Bahamas (formerly also Pelican Shoal, Florida Keys), e Yucatan Pen., e Belize, Bay Is. (n of c Honduras) to Lesser Antilles and n Venezuela and Tobago; off s Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and Gulf of Guinea is. (nw, wc
antarcticus
tropical Indian Ocean islands: Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Somalia to Tanzania, smaller Inner Is. (ne Seychelles) and Barren I. (w of c Madagascar, w Indian Ocean); Chagos Arch. (nc Indian Ocean), Lakshadweep (w of c India), Vengurla Rocks (w of s Maharashtra,
anaethetus
tropical and subtropical e Indian and w Pacific oceans: islands w of Thailand and Malaysia, in Indonesian Arch., Okinawa and Yaeyama is. (Ryukyu Is.=Nansei Shoto, s Japan), Taiwan, islands off e China, Philippines, New Guinea and w, n, ne Australian satel
nelsoni
islets w of Nayarit and Guerrero (wc Mexico), Gulf of Fonseca (w of Honduras), Guanacaste (nw Costa Rica), Los Frailes del Sur (off sc Panama) and Islote Pelado (off sw Ecuador)
Normally seen far from shore, often resting on floating objects. The Bridled Tern is smaller than the slightly larger [Sooty Tern], and has grey-brown and not black wings.
Africa (entire continent rather than south of Sahara)
AN
Antarctica
AO
Atlantic Ocean
AU
Australasia (Wallacea (Indonesian islands east of Wallace's line), New Guinea and its islands, Australia, New Zealand and its subantarctic islands, the Solomons, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu)
EU
Eurasia (Europe, Asia from the Middle East through central Asia north of the Himalayas, Siberia and northern China to Japan)
IO
Indian Ocean
LA
Latin America (Middle and South America)
MA
Middle America (Mexico through Panama)
NA
North America (includes the Caribbean)
NO
Northern oceans
OR
Oriental Region (South Asia from Pakistan to Taiwan, plus Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Greater Sundas)