Family: Laridae, Gulls and Terns view all from this family

Description 13-16" (33-41 cm). White with black cap and pale gray back and wings. Bill red with black tip; tail deeply forked. Similar to Forster's Tern, but lacks frosty wing tip. See also Arctic Tern.

Habitat Lakes, ponds, rivers, coastal beaches, and islands.

Nesting 2 or 3 spotted olive-buff eggs laid in a depression in sand or in a shallow cup of dead grass, located on sandy or pebbly beaches or open rocky places. Nests in colonies, most often on islands or isolated peninsulas.

Range Breeds in scattered colonies from Alberta and Labrador south to Montana, Great Lakes, and Caribbean. A common migrant along Pacific Coast. Winters from Florida to southern South America. Also in Eurasia.

Voice   Kip-kip-kip; also tee-aar.

Discussion A grasp of the field marks of other terns is best gained by comparison with this most common of the "sea swallows." It is a familiar sight on almost all large bodies of water where protected nesting sites exist. This bird flies gracefully over the water with deliberate wingbeats, head turned down at a right angle to the body. When it sights a fish or tadpole, it dives much like a booby to catch its aquatic prey. Sensitive to disturbance during the breeding season, whole colonies often fail to breed successfully because of disruption by humans; as a result, their numbers are slowly declining. They will attack human intruders in the nesting colonies, often striking them on the head with their bills.