Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern, adult; Nome, AK; June

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Arctic Tern, breeding adult; Nome, AK; June

Arctic Tern, breeding adult; Nome, AK; June

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A small, slender white bird, the Arctic Tern is well known for its long yearly migration. Its travel from its Arctic breeding grounds to its wintering grounds off of Antarctica may cover perhaps 40,000 km (25,000 mi), and is the farthest yearly journey of any bird.

Description

• Medium-sized tern.
• White with black cap.
• Tail long and deeply forked.
• Wings white with some dark at tips.

• Size: 28-39 cm (11-15 in)
• Wingspan: 65-75 cm (26-30 in)
• Weight: 90-120 g (3.18-4.24 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Sound

Calls a short "kip" and a harsh "kee-errr."

Conservation Status

Data on populations is limited, with no estimates available for most of its breeding range. Hunting for millinery trade caused declines of Atlantic populations in late 19th century. Southernmost populations declining and listed as of special concern.

Other Names

Sterne arctique (French)
Charrán ártico, Gaviotín del Artico (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• When molting its wing feathers during the winter, the Arctic Tern rarely flies, instead speading much of its time resting on small blocks of ice at the edge of the pack ice. Its molt happens so quickly that some individuals are nearly flightless for a while.
• The Arctic Tern can live to be at least 34 years old. It usually does not begin to breed until it is three or four years old.

• Most Arctic Terns return to the area where they were hatched, often to the same colony. One individual, however, was banded as a chick in northwestern Russia and found two years later in eastern Greenland.

• Downy Arctic Tern hatchlings come in two colors: gray or brown. Chicks within the same brood may be of different colors.

Sources used to construct this page:

Hatch, J. J. 2002. Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea). In The Birds of North America, No. 707 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.