tern, any of about 40 species of slender, graceful water birds that constitute the subfamily Sterninae, of the family Laridae, which also includes the gulls.
How do you identify terns?
Common Terns are pale gray overall with a
black cap
Breeding birds have a fully black cap that extends to the back of the neck and a gray belly. They also have an
orange bill
tipped in black and orange legs. Nonbreeding birds have a white forehead, a partial black cap, and black legs and bill.
What is the smallest tern?
The Least Tern is the world’s smallest tern—it weighs in at about the same size as a mockingbird. The “interior” Least Tern, which nests in the vast Mississippi River drainage, was listed as Endangered in 1985 when the population was estimated at fewer than 2,000 birds.
Is a tern a type of seagull?
The gull is a
sea bird
of the family Laridae. Its cousin the tern is a sea bird of the family Sternidae More distant relatives include auks, skimmers, and waders. Gulls are larger than terns.
What does a common tern look like?
The common tern is a medium-sized tern found in the majority of the UK. These graceful birds are characterised by their silver-grey upperparts, white underparts, black cap and red bill, as well as long tails that have earned them the nickname ‘sea-swallow’.
Can you eat tern?
Cultures reported to have eaten tern include Hare (Sahtu), Inuit, Inupiat and Cree (
red earth
, James Bay and Mistissini) [1-8]. Most of these reports would have involved Arctic Terns, but the Red Earth Cree were likely to have eaten Common Terns.
What’s the difference between an Arctic tern and a common tern?
Common Tern has a medium gray back which contrasts with
darker primaries
and a gray throat and belly. Arctic Tern has a uniform medium gray back and primaries with a deeper gray throat and belly. Caution should be given under poor light conditions and especially with immature birds.
Is a royal tern a seagull?
The royal tern belongs to the class Aves and the order Charadriiformes. Charadriiformes are mainly seabirds of small to medium-large size The royal tern is also in the family Sternidae because of its white plumage, black cap on its head, long bill, webbed feet, and bodies that are more streamlined than those of gulls.
Where are common tern found?
In North America, the common tern breeds along the Atlantic coast from Labrador to North Carolina, and inland throughout much of Canada east of the Rocky Mountains In the United States, some breeding populations can also be found in the states bordering the Great Lakes, and locally on the Gulf coast.
What does the least tern look like?
Breeding adults are pale gray and white, with a black cap, white forehead, and yellow bill. Nonbreeding adults have a dark bill, smudgy grayish crown, and may show a dark bar at the bend of the wing. The outer primaries are dark gray-black. Juveniles are similar to nonbreeding adults but scaly gray above.
Where was the least tern discovered?
HISTORICAL STATUS: Historically, the least tern was found on the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and California coasts, and on the Mississippi, Missouri, and Rio Grande river systems It was found throughout the Missouri River system up to the lower Missouri in Montana.
What bird looks like a seagull but has an orange beak?
Royal Tern Photos and Videos Large tern with pointed wings, a long forked tail, and a bright orange bill.
Are terns Ducks?
Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of eleven genera.
What is the difference between a tern and a black headed gull?
Appearance: Differs from Common Tern in shorter head, and blood-red bill Legs shorter, but tail streamers longer (extends well past wings in sitting birds). Underparts of primaries with sharply bordered dark trailing edge (diffusely bordered in Common Tern).
What is a group of terns called?
Terns: cotillion Turkeys: rafter, gobble, gang, posse.
What is the difference between a teen and a gull?
Telling a gull from a tern can be difficult, although it’s easier to tell them apart when seen in flight. That’s because the terns common in this area have sharply angular tails and wings, while gulls have more rounded wings , according to the Michigan State University Extension.
What kind of bird looks like a seagull but smaller?
Terns are small to medium birds, often smaller and slimmer than most of the gulls.
What does the least tern eat?
Least Terns feed almost entirely on small fish They catch fish by diving, usually in fairly shallow water, often hovering briefly before diving. They also occasionally eat shrimp, tadpoles, flying insects, and ants.
Why is the least tern endangered?
Before the species was protected as endangered in 1985, the number of interior least terns had plummeted below 2,000 birds due to changes to river systems from dams, dikes, reservoirs and water diversions , which eliminated most of their historic nesting habitat.
Citations
https://www.vulkaner.no/n/birds/terne/tern.html
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Tern/id
https://www.beautyofbirds.com/terns.htm