- Sterna forsteri
Identification
33-38cm (including tail streamers)
Wing span 64-70cm
Adult Summer
- Black-tipped orange-red bill
- Black crown
- Grey upper wing coverts
- White rump
Adult Winter
- Black bill
- White crown
- Black mask around ear coverts and eyes
Juvenile
- Cinnamon feathers on crown
- Cinnamon on semicollar in front of wing
Similar Species
Has a heavier-looking bill than Common Tern
Distribution
Breeds in North America; winters southern US to Costa Rica and Greater Antilles
A regular vagrant to Europe, individuals usually seen annually in Britain and Ireland
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[3].
Habitat
Breeds beside both fresh water and in salt marshes
Behaviour
Flight
They will hover when feeding, also plunge dive from a perch.
Diet
The diet consists mostly of small fish and arthropods. Also flying insects.
Breeding
They build a large floating nest on dead marsh vegetation, lined with grass.
Vocalisation
Call: a harsh nasal kreerr (reminiscent of Black-headed Gull and Common Tern) and a distinctive metallic klick.
In Culture
It was named after Johann Reinhold Forster (1729-1798).
References
- Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
- Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Birdforum thread discussing id of juv Forster's Tern
- Birdforum thread discussing id of near adult Forster's Tern
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Forster's Tern. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 22 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Forster%27s_Tern
