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Least Tern

Sterna antillarumOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)

Least Tern Portrait
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General

Least Tern: Small tern with slate-gray upperparts and white underparts. Crown and nape are black and forehead is white. Black leading edge of outer wing is conspicuous in flight. Tail is forked. Bill and feet are yellow. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has brown-and-white mottled upperparts.

Range and Habitat

Least Tern: Breeds along California coast, along rivers in Mississippi Valley, and coastally from Maine south to Florida and the Gulf coast. Spends winters from Baja California south to southern Mexico; also along coasts of South America. Preferred habitats include broad, level expanses of open sandy or gravelly beach, dredge spoil and other open shoreline areas, and more rarely, inland on broad river valley sandbars.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"kip-kip-kip", "zreep"

Interesting Facts

 Least terns are the smallest member of the gull and tern family.

 They prefer sandy beaches for nesting, but will use a flat gravel roof of a building. On sunny days the hot tar showing through the gravel can burn the feet of chicks or become stuck in their down.

 Courtship typically takes place removed from the nesting colony site, usually on an exposed tidal flat or beach.

 A group of least terns are collectively known as a "straightness" of terns.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Least Tern
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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.
Family Tern (Laridae)_blue
Species Sterna antillarum
Length8 - 9 Inches
Wingspan20 Inches

Least Tern

Least Tern: Small tern, slate-gray upperparts, white underparts. Crown, nape are black and forehead is white. Black leading edge of outer wing conspicuous in flight. Tail is forked. Bill and feet are yellow. Fast smooth flight with rapid wing beats. Hovers briefly before dipping down to sieze prey.

● Song: "kip-kip-kip", "zreep"

● Foraging & Feeding: Least Tern: Feeds on small fish; forages by skimming the water surface or diving from the air.

● Breeding & nesting: Least Tern: One to three buff to pale green eggs marked with black, gray or brown are laid in a scrape in sand, shells, or gravel and lined with small shells or other debris. Incubation ranges from 20 to 25 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Least Tern: Black Tern has dark gray upperparts and tail and is entirely black below.

Flight Pattern

Bouyant graceful fast flight with rapid wing beats.
Least Tern Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Least Tern: Breeds along California coast, along rivers in Mississippi Valley, and coastally from Maine south to Florida and the Gulf coast. Spends winters from Baja California south to southern Mexico; also along coasts of South America. Preferred habitats include broad, level expanses of open sandy or gravelly beach, dredge spoil and other open shoreline areas, and more rarely, inland on broad river valley sandbars.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
PopulationFairly common, but local
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.5 Ounces