Common Tern

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

Codes: Common Name: COTE Scientific Name: STEHIR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176888

Head

Topo Map: Gull-like Head

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

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Body

Topo Map: Gull-like Body

Length Range: 33-41 cm (13-16 in)
Weight: 119 g (4.2 oz)
Size: Size 3. Medium (9 - 16 in)
Color: White, Black, Gray
Underparts: Pale Gray
Upperparts: Gray
Back Pattern: Solid
Belly Pattern: Solid
Breast Pattern: Solid

Flight

Topo Map: Gull-like Flight

Flight Pattern: Light buoyant flight with rapid wing beats.
Wingspan Range: 76-79 cm (30-31 in)
Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings
Tail Shape: Forked Tail
Tail Pattern: Solid
Upper Tail: White
Under Tail: Pale Gray
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.

Common Tern

Common Tern: Medium tern, medium gray upperparts, pale gray underparts, glossy black cap and nape. Wings are dark-tipped and have dark leading edge on forewing. Red bill is black-tipped. Legs are red and tail is deeply forked and elongated. Direct flight, hovers above water before diving for prey.

● Song: "kee-urr" removed period

● Foraging & Feeding: Common Tern: Feeds primarily on small fish up to four inches in length; also takes shrimp and aquatic insects; forages by striking the water in shallow plunge dives or skimming the surface.

● Breeding & nesting: Common Tern: One to three buff to brown eggs spotted with dark brown and black are laid in a simple scrape built above the high tide line in sand, gravel, shells, or seaweed, and lined with vegetation. Incubation ranges from 21 to 27 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Common Tern: Roseate and Forster’s terns lack dark leading edge on forewings. Arctic Tern is smaller, shorter-legged, longer-winged, and has solid red (adult) or black (juvenile) bill.

Flight Pattern

Light buoyant flight with rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Common Tern: Breeds in North America along the Atlantic coast from the northern Maritime Provinces of Canada to South Carolina, and occasionally in the Gulf of Mexico or on large inland lakes. Spends winters from southernmost breeding areas on the Atlantic coast to northern Ecuador and Brazil. Preferred habitats include sand and shell beaches, grassy uplands, and rocky inland shores.

^BreedingMonogamous, Colonial

^Population

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight4.2 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

Common Tern

Head

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Body

Flight

Common Tern

Flight Pattern