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Bird name:

Black Tern

Chlidonias nigerOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)

Codes: Common Name: BLTE Scientific Name: CHLNIG ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176959

Head

Topo Map: Gull-like Head

Bill Shape: All-purpose
Eye Color: Dark brown.
Head Pattern: Plain
Crown Color: Black
Forehead Color: Black
Nape Color: Black
Throat Color: Black
Cere color: No Data

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Body

Topo Map: Gull-like Body

Length Range: 23-25 cm (9-10 in)
Weight: 65 g (2.3 oz)
Size: Size 3. Medium (9 - 16 in)
Color: Black, Gray
Underparts: Black
Upperparts: Dark Gray
Back Pattern: Solid
Belly Pattern: Solid
Breast Pattern: Solid

Flight

Topo Map: Gull-like Flight

Flight Pattern: Buoyant flight with steady fast wing beats.
Wingspan Range: 51-61 cm (20-24 in)
Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings, Long-Wings
Tail Shape: Notched Tail
Tail Pattern: Solid
Upper Tail: Dark Gray
Under Tail: White
Leg Color: Red

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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.

Black Tern

Black Tern: Small tern with black head, bill and underparts. Back, wings, and tail are silver-gray. Vent is white; legs and feet are dark red but may appear black. Bouyant direct flight with deep rapid wing beats, hovers for insects. Uneven foraging flight. Plunge dives on occasion.

● Song: "ka-sheek", "kik-kik-kik"

● Foraging & Feeding: Black Tern: Feeds on insects, crayfish, small mollusks, and fish. Forages by seizing prey at or near the water surface, darting quickly into the water from the air with the bill pointed down; also catches insects in air, especially during swarms.

● Breeding & nesting: Black Tern: Two to four buff to olive eggs with black, brown and green blotches are laid in a floating nest made of dead plants. Nest is sometimes built on top of a muskrat house. Incubation ranges from 17 to 22 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Black Tern: White-winged Tern, accidental in U.S., has white upperwings, white rump and tail, and black axillaries in breeding plumage.

Flight Pattern

Buoyant flight with steady fast wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Black Tern: Nests across northern U.S. and southern Canada; spends winters in South America. Preferred habitats include lakes, ponds, marshes, and coastal areas.

^BreedingMonogamous, Colonial

^PopulationCommon to fairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight2.3 Ounces

Gull-like Head

Gull-like Body

Gull-like Flight

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

Black Tern

Head

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Body

Flight

Black Tern

Flight Pattern