General

Black Tern: Small tern with black head and underparts. Back, wings, and tail are silver-gray. Vent is white; legs are dark red but may appear black. Sexes are similar. Winter adult is pale gray above with black patch covering ears and nape on a white head. Juvenile is similar to winter adult but has a scaled appearance.

Range and 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.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"ka-sheek", "kik-kik-kik"

Interesting Facts

 The Black Tern is very social. It breeds in loose colonies and usually forages, roosts, and migrates in flocks of a few to more than 100 birds, occasionally up to tens of thousands.

 The male performs a display flight where he carries a small fish or dragonfly in view of potential mates. A female that accepts the invitation follows him to a perch where he feeds her the prize.

 They are semi-colonial nesters and only defend a small territory a few feet around the nest. Nests may be as close as 1 yard apart, but more typically they are 15 to 60 feet apart, in clusters of 10 to 50 nests.

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

Author

Gary Owen Dick