- Sterna paradisaea
Identification
33–39 cm. Grey and white, long red beak, red feet, white forehead, black nape and crown streaked white, white cheeks, scapulars are fringed brown, some tipped white, grey upper wing with a white leading edge, white collar and rump, deeply forked white tail with grey outer webs, black hindcrown. [1]
Distribution
Breeds in arctic and sub-arctic Europe, Asia, and North America. Migrates to the Antarctic for another summer. Accidental in Kansas.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Habitat
Oceans. Nests on islands in the Arctic.
Behaviour
The diet includes fish and small marine invertebrates.
The nest is a depression in the ground and 1-3 mottled eggs are laid. Both parents incubate the eggs for 27 days; the young fledge after 21–24 days.
Vocalisation
<flashmp3>Sterna paradisaea (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
