• The common tern (Sterna hirundo) is a seabird in the family Laridae. (wikipedia.org)
  • Breeding in a wider range of habitats than any of its relatives, the common tern nests on any flat, poorly vegetated surface close to water, including beaches and islands, and it readily adapts to artificial substrates such as floating rafts. (wikipedia.org)
  • Despite international legislation protecting the common tern, in some areas, populations are threatened by habitat loss, pollution, or the disturbance of breeding colonies. (wikipedia.org)
  • Genetic evidence suggests that the common tern may have diverged from an ancestral stock earlier than its relatives. (wikipedia.org)
  • The common tern was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae under its current scientific name, Sterna hirundo. (wikipedia.org)
  • The there was some uncertainty whether Sterna hirundo should apply to the common tern or the arctic tern as the species are very similar and both occur in Sweden. (wikipedia.org)
  • In 1913, the Swedish zoologist Einar Lönnberg concluded that the binomial name Sterna hirundo applied to the common tern. (wikipedia.org)
  • Four subspecies of the common tern are generally recognized, although S. h. minussensis is sometimes considered an intergrade between S. h. hirundo and S. h. longipennis. (wikipedia.org)
  • The nominate subspecies of the common tern is 31-35 cm (12-14 in) long, including a 6-9 cm (2.4-3.5 in) fork in the tail, with a 77-98 cm (30-39 in) wingspan. (wikipedia.org)
  • Sterna paradisaea (Arctic Tern) is a species of birds in the family Laridae . (eol.org)
  • Terns are small to medium-sized seabirds closely related to the gulls, skimmers and skuas. (wikipedia.org)
  • Unlike gulls, terns will dive into the water for small fish. (fws.gov)
  • This means that photosynthetic productivity (plant growth) is in overdrive, especially in the sea which leads to an abundance of other potential food a little further along the food chain which is then available to larger animals such as birds like terns. (coolantarctica.com)
  • The flying abilities of Arctic terns are amongst the most astonishing of any birds. (coolantarctica.com)
  • Jerdon, in his 'Birds of India', says: - "this fine Tern is by no means uncommon in most parts of the country, frequenting rivers, jheels, and tanks. (nzbirds.co.nz)
  • Arctic Terns are long-lived birds, with many reaching thirty years of age. (gudmann.is)
  • As an instructor at Hog Island Audubon Camp's Arts & Birding week, Derrick teaches photography, and has documented the Seabird Institute's work with birds like Atlantic Puffins and Roseate Terns on a number of seabird islands. (audubon.org)
  • Egevang strapped them to the leg of 50 terns, and managed to retrieve 11 of them the following season, when the birds returned. (nationalgeographic.com)
  • The genus also used to contain the seven species currently in the genus Sternula (small white terns), but these are generally now considered to be a separate genus. (storm-crow.co.uk)
  • There are several similar species, including the partly sympatric Arctic tern, which can be separated on plumage details, leg and bill colour, or vocalisations. (wikipedia.org)
  • Like most terns, this species feeds by plunge-diving for fish, either in the sea or in freshwater, but molluscs, crustaceans and other invertebrate prey may form a significant part of the diet in some areas. (wikipedia.org)
  • Because of the difficulty in distinguishing the two species, all the informal common names are shared with the Arctic tern. (wikipedia.org)
  • Currently the RSPB and British Bird List place the Sandwich Tern in this genus as Sterna Sandvicensis , but other sources place it in the genus Thalasseus (crested terns). (storm-crow.co.uk)
  • What are Arctic Terns like? (coolantarctica.com)
  • The Arctic Tern is a member of a very exclusive animal club, it can be found at different times at both poles. (coolantarctica.com)
  • Such is this abundance of seasonal food, it is actually worth the effort for terns to fly the length of the planet to take advantage of the Antarctic summer after spending the Arctic summer having partaken of its own seasonal abundance. (coolantarctica.com)
  • Both the Arctic and the Antarctic have 24 hours daylight in mid-summer and Arctic Terns are in both places in mid summer. (coolantarctica.com)
  • Arctic terns have a very particular and extreme lifestyle, all the more surprising when you realise how small they are, they have a number of anatomical, behavioural and physiological adaptations that allow them to survive successfully. (coolantarctica.com)
  • Arctic terns dive repeatedly at any animal (including man) that they think represents a threat. (coolantarctica.com)
  • Arctic Tern, sterna paradisea, preparing to mate and nest in the Arctic scientific research village of Ny-Alesund, Svalbard. (blather.net)
  • Arctic Tern, sterna paradisea, Ny Alesund , originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography . (blather.net)
  • The Arctic Tern is the most impressive in that respect. (storm-crow.co.uk)
  • The common tern's closest relatives appear to be the Antarctic tern, followed by the Eurasian Arctic and roseate terns. (wikipedia.org)
  • The rump and tail are white, and on a standing bird the long tail extends no further than the folded wingtips, unlike the Arctic and roseate terns in which the tail protrudes beyond the wings. (wikipedia.org)
  • Arctic Terns defend their title! (birdnote.org)
  • Arctic Terns are the long-distance champions of migration. (birdnote.org)
  • Thanks to satellite transmitters and geolocators, we know that some Arctic Terns travel more than 50,000 miles annually! (birdnote.org)
  • We used to think that Arctic Terns traveled 25,000 miles a year, making them the long-distance champions of migration. (birdnote.org)
  • More recently…scientists working with Arctic Terns in Greenland and Iceland have discovered some of those Arctic Terns are travelling 47,000 miles a year. (birdnote.org)
  • And now Danish researchers have found "their" Arctic Terns are travelling 53,000 miles a year. (birdnote.org)
  • And even here in the Gulf of Maine, where we're sitting and talking, the Arctic Terns that breed on the islands off Maine are traveling all the way down…to the South Atlantic. (birdnote.org)
  • As flights go, it's a pathetic one, a mere jaunt in the park compared to the epic voyage of the Arctic tern. (nationalgeographic.com)
  • The Arctic tern is certainly the most accomplished of feathered migrants, but it's far from the only one. (nationalgeographic.com)
  • Many die en route and even the survivors must cope with the extreme Arctic environment, and be strong enough to breed in it. (nationalgeographic.com)
  • The white-fronted tern , also known as tara , sea swallow , black-billed tern , kahawai bird , southern tern , or swallow tail , was first described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. (bsc-eoc.org)
  • The genus Sterna now contains a group of medium sized white terns that live in coastal waters. (storm-crow.co.uk)
  • The members of the genus Sterna are generally white, with black caps on the head. (storm-crow.co.uk)
  • Stearn" appears in the poem The Seafarer, written around 1000 A.D. Linnaeus adopted this word for the genus name Sterna. (wikipedia.org)
  • Although no Forster's tern nests were observed in Pond A16 before social attraction was implemented (2015, 2016), or during the first-year social attraction was implemented (2017), 35 Forster's tern nests were recorded during the second year of social attraction implementation in 2019. (usgs.gov)
  • These 35 nests represent a re-establishment of a Forster's tern nesting colony to Pond A16 for the first time in 8 years. (usgs.gov)
  • As social attraction efforts often benefit from multiple years of decoy and call system deployment, results from 2017 and 2019 suggest that continued implementation of social attraction measures could help to ensure Forster's tern breeding colonies persist in Pond A16 and other areas of South San Francisco Bay. (usgs.gov)
  • Furthermore, disturbance from the noise of close personal watercraft has also caused desertion of nests and the exposure death of newly hatched chicks therefore regulating boat numbers, boat speed and proximity of travel to the vegetation used by Forster's Tern colonies may also be required. (msu.edu)
  • Special Animal Abstract for Sterna forsteri (Forster's tern). (msu.edu)
  • A medium-sized tern with an all-white body including underwing and forked tail, with grey hues on the over the upper side of the wing. (bsc-eoc.org)
  • Forster's terns are medium-sized terns (14 in. (msu.edu)
  • Medium-sized tern, mostly restricted to coastal areas. (ebird.org)
  • Forster's terns ( Sterna forsteri ), historically one of the most numerous colonial-breeding waterbirds in South San Francisco Bay, California, have experienced recent decreases in the number of nesting colonies and overall breeding population size. (usgs.gov)
  • During the 2017 and 2019 breeding seasons, we used social attraction measures (decoys and colony call playback systems) to attract Forster's terns to islands within Pond A16 to re-establish nesting colonies. (usgs.gov)
  • Their 31-inch (78.7 cm) average wingspan distinguishes them from the Caspian tern whose wingspan averages 54 inches (137 cm). (msu.edu)
  • The Caspian tern is reported to breed annually at Sylt, an island of Denmark, on the coast of Jutland. (nzbirds.co.nz)
  • The Caspian Tern has been found at Senegal and at the Cape of Good Hope. (nzbirds.co.nz)
  • The Caspian Tern frequents Southern Europe, India, Africa and all the shores of Australia, but is, perhaps, more numerous on the islands in Bass's Straits and Tasmania than elsewhere. (nzbirds.co.nz)
  • During phase 1 of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, the breaching of several pond levees to begin the process of tidal marsh restoration inundated island nesting habitat that had been used by Forster's terns, American avocets ( Recurvirostra americana ), and other waterbirds. (usgs.gov)
  • Recreational boating wakes have had a detrimental effect on the floating aquatic vegetation that Forster's terns use for nesting habitat so efforts should be made to ameliorate these effects. (msu.edu)
  • We compared bird survey and nest monitoring data collected in 2017 and 2019 to data collected in 2015 and 2016, prior to the implementation of social attraction measures, allowing for direct evaluation of the effect of social attraction efforts on Forster's terns. (usgs.gov)
  • New Zealand Fairy tern with open beak calling to its mate (Sterna nereis davisae), NZ's rarest bird, also known as tara-iti, Waipu, Whangarei District, Northland Region, New Zealand (NZ). (naturespic.com)
  • Playback experiments performed in a colony of Least Terns near Fort Macon, North Carolina, demonstrated that adults can distinguish the call of their mate from that of a stranger. (planetofbirds.com)
  • The terns spend an average of 3-4 weeks there between August and September, galvanising themselves before heading southeast to Africa. (nationalgeographic.com)
  • To evaluate the effect of these social attraction measures, we completed surveys (between April and August) where we recorded the number and location of all Forster's terns and other waterbirds using Pond A16, and we monitored waterbird nests. (usgs.gov)
  • Forster's terns may be surveyed like other colonial nesting waterbirds by foot, boat, or aircraft. (msu.edu)
  • At the end of the breeding season, the terns take off from Greenland and Iceland and head southwest to a stopover that we didn't know about. (nationalgeographic.com)
  • The relative abundance of Forster's terns in Pond A16, after adjusting for the overall South San Francisco Bay breeding population each year, was higher during the nesting period in 2017 and 2019 (when social attraction was used) than in 2015 and 2016 (before social attraction was used). (usgs.gov)
  • Least terns are the smallest member of the gull and tern family. (fws.gov)
  • Least terns have a forked tail and narrow. (fws.gov)
  • Forster's terns nest far from shore within marshes to avoid many predators. (msu.edu)
  • The photograph released to the press taken by the discoverer, Liang Chieh-teh, shows two adults with one small chick, nesting next to pairs of Crested Terns S. bergii . (clara.net)