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Common Tern

Sterna hirundoOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)
Common Tern Head Illustration_2

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
Common Tern Body Illustration_2

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
Common Tern Flight Illustration_2

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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Family Tern (Laridae)_blue
Species Sterna hirundo
Length13 - 16 Inches
Wingspan30.5 Inches

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.
Common Tern Body Illustration_2
● 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