Black Tern

Chlidonias nigerOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)

Black Tern Juvenile - The juvenile Black Tern is white below, with a dark gray mantle and tail. A dark ear patch extends from the dark crown.

Black Tern - The breeding adult Black Tern has a black head and underparts. The back, wings and tail are silver-gray and the vent is white. The legs and feet are dark red and the bill is black.

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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

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Black Tern

Black Tern

Flight Pattern