This species breeds in a wide variety of habitats in coastal and inland areas from sea-level to heights of greater than 4,000 m (Gochfeld et al. 2013). Along the coast it shows a preference for nesting on flat rock surfaces on inshore islands (Snow and Perrins 1998), open shingle and sandy beaches, dunes and spits (Snow and Perrins 1998, Gochfeld et al. 2013), vegetated inter-dune areas, sandy, rocky, shell-strewn or well-vegetated islands in estuaries (Gochfeld et al. 2013) and coastal lagoons (Snow and Perrins 1998), saltmarshes (Richards 1990, Snow and Perrins 1998), mainland peninsulas (Snow and Perrins 1998) and grassy plateaux atop coastal cliffs (Gochfeld et al. 2013). Inland it may nest in similar habitats including sand or shingle lakes shores (Richards 1990), shingle banks in rivers (Snow and Perrins 1998), sandy, rocky, shell-strewn or well-vegetated islands in lakes and rivers (Snow and Perrins 1998, Gochfeld et al. 2013), sand- or gravel-pits (Richards 1990, Snow and Perrins 1998), marshes, ponds, grassy areas and patches of dredged soil (Snow and Perrins 1998).

It breeds between April and June in solitary pairs or colonially in groups of up to several thousand pairs (inland colonies often smaller and more widely-dispersed than coastal ones). The nest is a shallow depression on open substrates with little or no vegetation placed near a vertical object (e.g. rock, shell, plant or artefact) to provide shelter for chicks and to facilitate nest identification. Nest sites include the edges of bare sand amongst vegetation, rocks or logs, open areas on the margins of vegetation on beaches, the edges of mats of vegetation in marshes, and grassy or rocky substrates on rocky islets. The species will also readily nest on artificial rafts. Clutches at higher latitudes are normally three eggs, however this is affected by food availability.

This bird is an opportunistic feeder, its diet consisting predominantly of small fish and occasionally planktonic crustaceans and insects. This species is a strongly migratory coastal seabird (Snow and Perrins 1998, Gochfeld et al. 2013).

Palearctic breeders migrate south after breeding between August and October, returning to the breeding grounds in March or April (Gochfeld et al. 2013).

Although the generation length for both EU and Europe regional assessments were calculated using the same methodology, new information arriving after the EU assessments were undertaken gave rise to an update in the generation lengths. This new information was then used for the Europe level assessments giving rise to a difference between the generation lengths used for the EU and Europe regions.

In Europe, the species breeds primarily in Russia, with notable numbers in Finland, Ukraine, Sweden, Belarus and Turkey.

Conservation Actions Underway
A conservation scheme for the protection of gull and tern breeding colonies in coastal lagoons and deltas (e.g. Po Delta, Italy) involves protection from human disturbance, prevention of erosion of islet complexes, habitat maintenance and the creation of new islets for nest sites (Fasola and Canova 1996).

Conservation Actions Proposed
In the Po Delta of Italy a conservation scheme has specified that bare islets with 30–100 % cover of low vegetation (sward heights less than 20 cm) should be maintained or created as nesting sites (Fasola and Canova 1996). Artificial nesting rafts have proved effective in promoting breeding success in areas where there is a lack of suitable nesting habitat or where human disturbance is a particular threat (1996) (Gochfeld et al. 2013). Using fire to expose the ground surface in areas where vegetation succession is proceeding too far towards closed vegetation stages has been successful in some areas (Hyde 1997). Management techniques used to increase the breeding numbers and reproductive success of the species in the Great Lakes region of North America include creating artificial nesting sites, vegetation management, enhancement of existing nesting habitat, using models and vocalisation to attract breeding pairs and predator control (e.g. mammal-exclusion, destruction of gull nests, direct predator removal, or preventative measures against gull nesting) (Blokpoel and Scharf 1991). Culling predatory gulls can be an effective management tool to enhance breeding productivity (Guillemette and Brousseau 2001), although some management plans recommend non-lethal harassment techniques that target gulls (e.g. egg and nest destruction, conspicuous human observers, gull displacement walks, and pyrotechnics) to reduce predation on nesting colonies rather than culling (Donehower et al. 2007).