Wildlifeof Sri Lanka
Common Tern
Gulls, Terns & Skuas
Photo: Bill Keim · CC BY 4.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Sterna hirundo
Basic stats
Diet
Fish caught by plunge-diving; also molluscs, crustaceans and other invertebrates
Habitat
Flat, poorly vegetated ground close to water, including beaches and islands
Range
Circumpolar; breeds in temperate and subarctic Europe, Asia and North America
Clutch size
Up to 3 eggs
Incubation period
About 21-22 days
The common tern is a seabird with a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and subarctic Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. Breeding adults have light grey upperparts, white to very light grey underparts, a black cap, orange-red legs and a narrow pointed bill, mostly red with a black tip or all black depending on the subspecies. The similar Arctic tern is separated by plumage, leg and bill colour and voice (Wikipedia, general species account).
It nests on any flat, poorly vegetated surface near water and readily uses artificial rafts. The nest may be a bare scrape, and up to three camouflaged eggs are laid and incubated by both sexes for about 21 to 22 days. The chicks fledge in 22 to 28 days. Nationally Critically Endangered (Sri Lanka National Red List 2012).
Quick answers
- What does the Common Tern eat?
- Fish caught by plunge-diving; also molluscs, crustaceans and other invertebrates
- What habitat does the Common Tern live in?
- Flat, poorly vegetated ground close to water, including beaches and islands
- Where is the Common Tern found?
- Circumpolar; breeds in temperate and subarctic Europe, Asia and North America
- How many eggs does the Common Tern lay?
- Up to 3 eggs
- How long are the eggs of the Common Tern incubated?
- About 21-22 days