Please note: General admission ticket sales will be limited on Sunday, May 5th as we welcome Boston Public Schools students and their families for BPS Sundays. We strongly recommend booking tickets in advance to guarantee entry. A limited number of tickets will be available onsite for walk-up purchases when we open at 9:00. Due to high demand on BPS Sundays, we expect to reach our building capacity in the afternoon, at which point we will no longer have tickets available.
Have you ever seen a bird plunge into the ocean to catch a fish? If so, you may have seen a common tern! These shorebirds will dive into the water from up to 40 feet high to catch their food.
Animal Facts
Size
12–15 inches long; About a 30-inch wingspan
Diet
Small fishes and some invertebrates
Lifespan
About 10 years
Range
Global
Conservation Status
Least concern
Threats to Survival
- Habitat loss
- Climate change
- Pollution
Play a Part in Local Common Tern Conservation
Although the common tern is classified as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Massachusetts considers it a species of special concern. Pesticide use, habitat loss due to coastal development, and disturbances of their nesting sites have all negatively impacted local common terns.
Meet Mo the Common Tern
After Mo was deemed unreleaseable due to an injury, he found a home at the New England Aquarium.
Why Does the Aquarium Have Birds?
As shorebirds, local common terns rely on the ocean and coastal areas to survive. They are a great example of how the health of the ocean affects not only marine animals, but our planet’s entire ecosystem. Protecting and preserving our ocean impacts the future for all of us. All of the shorebirds at the Aquarium were rescued after being found unable to survive in the wild.