A slender graceful gull-like bird with a black cap, deeply forked tail, and orange-red bill tipped in black. Dives into water from height to catch small fish, hovering before each plunge.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The common tern is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. Breeding adults have light grey upperparts, white to very light grey underparts, a black cap, orange-red legs, and a narrow pointed bill. Depending on the subspecies, the bill may be mostly red with a black tip or all black. There are several similar species, including the partly sympatric Arctic tern, which can be separated on plumage details, leg and bill colour, or vocalisations.
Source: Wikipedia — Common tern Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Pale gray above, white below, with a black cap and a red-orange bill tipped black. In flight shows a dark wedge in the outer primaries from above.
Similar species. Forster's Tern is paler with frosty primaries and an orange bill; Arctic Tern has a blood-red bill without a black tip and very short legs.
Voice. A drawn-out, grating 'kee-arrr' dropping at the end, and a sharp 'kip'.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Small fish caught by plunge-diving or surface-snatching.
Behavior. A graceful 'medium tern' that hovers and plunge-dives for small fish along coasts and lakes; nests in dense colonies and dive-bombs intruders.
§ Range
Atlantic + Great Lakes in summer; winters south US, Caribbean, South America
§ Habitat
Coastal beaches, islands, lake shores
§ Threats
Coastal disturbance, beach nesting predation, plastic pollution, climate change.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the common tern is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support artificial nest platforms. Respect nesting colonies during breeding season. Reduce ocean plastic.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Common tern
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Sterna hirundo
- IUCN Red List — search for Sterna hirundo
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Sterna hirundo
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
