Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaeaOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)

Codes: Common Name: ARTE Scientific Name: STEPAD ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176890

Arctic Tern: The adult Arctic Tern has gray upperparts, with a black cap, a white rump and throat and pale gray underparts. The bill, feet and legs are dark red.

Arctic Tern Variations

Juvenile
Arctic Tern

Adult
Arctic Tern

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Arctic Tern: Medium, slim tern with gray upperparts, black cap, white rump and throat, and pale gray underparts. Tail is deeply forked and white with dark edges on outer feathers. Bill is dark red, rarely tipped with black. Legs and feet are red. Bouyant graceful flight with steady wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Arctic Tern: Breeds on arctic tundra from Aleutians, northern Alaska and across northern Canada and south to northern British Columbia, northern Manitoba, Quebec, and Massachusetts. Spends winters in Antarctica. Makes the furthest migration of all birds: travel up to 22,000 miles on each round trip. Arctic Terns see more daylight than any other living creature since they are in both Southern and Northern Hemispheres during periods of longest days. Found along seashores, on rocky or grass-covered coasts and islands, and on tundra in summer.

Topo Map: Gull-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"tr-tee-ar"

Interesting Facts

During courtship, the male Arctic Tern will catch a small fish and fly as low as possible over a potential mate. If she notices him, she will join him in flight and they will mate soon after.

Because of their extremely long migrations, they hardly ever land. They spend most of their lives in the air.

Young terns migrate south with their parents but then remain in the Southern Hemisphere until they are two years old at which time they return to their birthplaces.

A group of terns are collectively known as a "ternery" or a "U" of terns.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Related Birds

Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Aleutian Tern
Roseate Tern
Sandwich Tern

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Arctic Tern

● Song: "tr-tee-ar"

● Foraging & Feeding: Arctic Tern: Diet consists mainly of small fish and invertebrates such as insects, shrimp, and krill; forages by swooping down and catching prey at the water surface.

● Breeding & nesting: Arctic Tern: One to three buff to pale olive eggs with black and brown blotches are laid on bare rocks, often lined with nothing more than a few pebbles. Egg color and markings are excellent camouflage among rocks. Both parents incubate eggs for about 24 days.

● Similar species: Arctic Tern: Common Tern has long red bill tipped with black, longer legs, and shorter tail.

Flight Pattern

Hovers, dips for prey., Buoyant graceful flight with nearly constant wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Arctic Tern: Breeds on arctic tundra from Aleutians, northern Alaska and across northern Canada and south to northern British Columbia, northern Manitoba, Quebec, and Massachusetts. Spends winters in Antarctica. Makes the furthest migration of all birds: travel up to 22,000 miles on each round trip. Arctic Terns see more daylight than any other living creature since they are in both Southern and Northern Hemispheres during periods of longest days. Found along seashores, on rocky or grass-covered coasts and islands, and on tundra in summer.

^BreedingMonogamous, Colonial, Pairs

^PopulationCommon to fairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight3.8 Ounces

Gull-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Cap

The area on top of the head of the bird.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern Variations

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Range and Habitat

Topo Map: Gull-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

Interesting Facts

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Related Birds

Arctic Tern

Flight Pattern