Field Guide to Birds of North America
Roseate Tern
General
Roseate Tern: White below with slight, variable pinkish cast visible in good light; pale gray above with black cap and nape and deeply forked tail that projects well beyond wingtips at rest. Bill mostly black with some red at base; legs and feet are red-orange. Sexes are similar. Winter adult has white forehead, two or three dark primaries, and lacks red at base of bill. Juvenile has a streaked brown cap that extends over the forehead, heavily scaled mantle, black bill, legs and feet and much shorter tail.
Range and Habitat
Roseate Tern: Offshore Florida Keys, and along New England coast from Long Island to Nova Scotia.
Listen to Call
Voice Text
"chi-wee", "keer", "zra-ap", "zhrrraaaaach"
Interesting Facts
The Roseate Tern is less defensive of its nest and young than other white terns, often relying on Arctic and Common Terns in the surrounding colony to defend them.
It sometimes steals fish from other seabirds. This increases their food collecting ability during bad weather when fish swim deeper, out of reach of the terns, but still within reach of the deeper-diving Puffins.
Breeding colonies in the Caribbean are vulnerable to egg collectors, who seek the eggs of this species because of supposed aphrodisiac properties.
A group of terns are collectively known as a "ternery" or a "U" of terns.
Author
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Family
Tern (Laridae)_blue
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Species
Sterna Dougallii
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Length12.5 - 15.5
Inches
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Wingspan29
Inches
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Roseate Tern
Roseate Tern: White below with slight, variable pinkish cast visible in good light; pale gray above with black cap, nape and deeply forked tail that projects well beyond wingtips at rest. Bill mostly black with some red at base; legs and feet are red-orange. Graceful, direct flight.
● Song: "chi-wee", "keer", "zra-ap", "zhrrraaaaach"
● Foraging & Feeding: Roseate Tern: Eats mainly small fish. Plunge dives for prey, often hovering before making its next catch. Often forms noisy active flocks when predatory fish drive schools of small fish to the surface.
● Breeding & nesting: Roseate Tern: Highly marine and coastal; comes ashore only to nest. Nest built by both sexes on ground, under cover, lined with debris, dry grass, and seaweed. Lays one to three white to buff eggs speckled with red brown and gray. Incubation ranges from 21 to 26 days and is carried out by both sexes; first flight at 27 to 30 days, but young may leave nest as early as a few days after hatching. One brood per year.
● Similar species: Roseate Tern: Common Tern is slightly smaller with black-tipped red bill, dark wing tips; shorter, less deeply-forked tail with dark outer border; different voice. Arctic Tern is grayer, gray mantle, wings, and underparts; white cheeks, dusky gray wing tips; deeply-forked tail has gray on outer margins; different voice.
Flight Pattern
Fairly stiff, quick, almost hurried wingbeats.
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BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
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PopulationUncommon to rare
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MigrationMigratory
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Weight3.8
Ounces
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