A medium-sized tern with elongated tail streamers and rose-tinted breast in breeding plumage. Federally endangered; populations crashed from coastal development.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The roseate tern is a species of tern in the family Laridae. The genus name Sterna is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and the specific dougallii refers to Scottish physician and collector Dr Peter McDougall (1777–1814). "Roseate" refers to the bird's pink breast in breeding plumage.
Source: Wikipedia — Roseate tern Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Very pale, almost white-winged tern with a long deeply forked tail extending past the wingtips at rest, a mostly black bill (red at the base in summer), and a faint rosy breast flush.
Similar species. Common and Forster's terns are grayer with shorter tail streamers and more orange/red in the bill; Roseate looks paler and longer-tailed.
Voice. A soft, distinctive two-note 'chi-vik' and a rasping 'aaach'.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Small fish caught by plunge-diving or surface-snatching.
Behavior. An endangered, very pale tern that dives for fish from greater heights than other terns; nests in a few dense colonies, often among Common Terns.
§ Range
Atlantic coast: NE breeding sites; Caribbean populations
§ Habitat
Coastal islands, salt marshes
§ Threats
Coastal development, sea-level rise, predation.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the roseate tern is currently classified as Endangered.
§ What helps
Support coastal preserves. Donate to USFWS recovery.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Roseate tern
- www.fws.gov — authoritative profile of Sterna dougallii
- IUCN Red List — search for Sterna dougallii
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Sterna dougallii
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
