Bird that breeds in the Arctic and sub-Arctic and migrates to the Antarctic
For the aircraft, see Arctic Aircraft Arctic Tern. For the racehorse, see Arctic Tern (horse).
Arctic tern
Farne Islands
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Charadriiformes
Family:
Laridae
Genus:
Sterna
Species:
S. paradisaea
Binomial name
Sterna paradisaea
Pontoppidan, 1763[2]
Range of S. paradisaea
Breeding grounds
wintering grounds
migration routes
Synonyms
Sterna portlandica Sterna pikei
The Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe (as far south as Brittany), Asia, and North America (as far south as Massachusetts). The species is strongly migratory, seeing two summers each year as it migrates along a convoluted route from its northern breeding grounds to the Antarctic coast for the southern summer and back again about six months later. Recent studies have shown average annual round-trip lengths of about 70,900 km (44,100 mi) for birds nesting in Iceland and Greenland and about 48,700 km (30,300 mi) for birds nesting in the Netherlands. These are by far the longest migrations known in the animal kingdom. The Arctic tern nests once every one to three years (depending on its mating cycle).
Arctic terns are medium-sized birds. They have a length of 28–39 cm (11–15 in) and a wingspan of 65–75 cm (26–30 in).[3] They are mainly grey and white plumaged, with a red/orange beak and feet, white forehead, a black nape and crown (streaked white), and white cheeks. The grey mantle is 305 mm (12.0 in), and the scapulae are fringed brown, some tipped white. The upper wing is grey with a white leading edge, and the collar is completely white, as is the rump. The deeply forked tail is whitish, with grey outer webs.
Arctic terns are long-lived birds, with many reaching fifteen to thirty years of age. They eat mainly fish and small marine invertebrates. The species is abundant, with an estimated two million individuals. While the trend in the number of individuals in the species as a whole is not known, exploitation in the past has reduced this bird's numbers in the southern reaches of its ranges.
^BirdLife International (2018). "Sterna paradisaea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22694629A132065195. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22694629A132065195.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^Cite error: The named reference Birdlife International was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference AAB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Arctictern (Sterna paradisaea) is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic...
birds such as the least and little terns, and can help humans distinguish similar species, such as common and Arcticterns, since flight calls are unique...
black. There are several similar species, including the partly sympatric Arctictern, which can be separated on plumage details, leg and bill colour, or vocalisations...
plumage. The Antarctic tern does not migrate like the Arctictern does, but it can still be found on a very large range. This tern species is actually more...
frequently associated with the Arctictern, which it closely resembles. While both species have a black cap, the Aleutian tern may be distinguished by its...
The Arctic Aircraft ArcticTern (named after the bird) is a bush plane that was produced in small numbers in Alaska in the 1970s and 1980s. It is a strengthened...
roseate tern (Sterna dougallii) is a species of tern in the family Laridae. The genus name Sterna is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and the...
The Voyage of the ArcticTern is a children's verse novel written by Hugh Montgomery and illustrated by Nick Poullis. It tells the story of an ancient...
propeller for increased performance and was certified in 1975 as the ArcticTern. The new Type certification also covered installing the same engine in...
The Sandwich tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis) is a tern in the family Laridae. It is very closely related to the lesser crested tern (T. bengalensis), Chinese...
like the black tern and the gull-billed tern. It usually dives directly, and not from the "stepped-hover" favoured by the Arctictern. The offering of...
usually dives directly, and not from the "stepped-hover" favoured by the Arctictern. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship...
power lines and wind farms. The Arctictern holds the long-distance migration record for birds, travelling between Arctic breeding grounds and the Antarctic...
directly, and not from the "stepped-hover" favoured by, for example, the Arctictern. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship...
recall common or Arctictern, but the short, forked-looking tail and dark grey breeding plumage above and below are typically marsh tern characteristics...
often migrate after the breeding season. Of these, the trip taken by the Arctictern is the farthest of any bird, crossing the equator in order to spend the...
fur seal Antarctic petrel Antarctic ternArctic fox Arctic hare Arctic redpoll ArcticternArctic warbler Arctic wolf Atlantic puffin Baird's sandpiper...
Nordvest-Spitsbergen, and Hopen are important breeding ground for seabirds. The Arctictern has the furthest migration, all the way to Antarctica. Two songbirds...
Doug starts to learn how to draw, starting with a copy of Audubon's ArcticTern under the tutelage of Mr. Powell, a librarian. Doug also meets a girl...
familiar complications: some migratory birds such as the Arctictern occur from the Arctic to the Southern Ocean, but at any one season of the year they...
The lesser crested tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek Thalasseus, "fisherman" from thalassa...
For example, migratory animals that travel vast distances (such as the Arctictern) typically have a locomotion mechanism that costs very little energy...
internationally important sites for breeding populations of Manx shearwater and Arctictern and nationally important sites for breeding Mediterranean gull, common...