Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaea

Arctic Tern

“ Fly silly sea bird, no dreams can possess you, no voices can blame you for sun on your wings. ”

– Joni Mitchell

Scientific Taxonomy & Character Information

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Charadriiformes

Family: Laridae

Genus: Sterna

Species: Sterna paradisaea

Descendant: Sterna

Named by: Erik Ludvigsen Pontoppidan

Year Published: 1763

Size: 33–36 cm (13–14 in) long in length; 76–85 cm (30–33 in) wingspan in length; 33 cm tall in height; 86–127 g (3.0–4.5 oz) in weight

Lifespan: 30+ years

Type: 

Title: 

Pantheon: Terran/Gaian

Time Period: Holocene

Alignment: Shy

Threat Level: ★★

Diet: Carnivorous

Elements: Water, air

Inflicts: n/a

Weaknesses: Electric, nature, ice, sound, earth, stunned

Casualties: n/a

Based On: itself

Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC) – IUCN Red List 

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, Asia, and North America.

Physical Appearance

Like most terns, the Arctic tern has high aspect ratio wings and a tail with a deep fork. Juveniles differ from adults in their black bill and legs, "scaly" appearing wings, and mantle with dark feather tips, dark carpal wing bar, and short tail streamers. During their first summer, juveniles also have a whiter forecrown.


The adult plumage is grey above, with a black nape and crown and white cheeks. The upperwings are pale grey, with the area near the wingtip being translucent. The tail is white, and the underparts pale grey. Both sexes are similar in appearance. The winter plumage is similar, but the crown is whiter and the bills are darker.


While the Arctic tern is similar to the common and roseate terns, its colouring, profile, and call are slightly different. Compared to the common tern, it has a longer tail and mono-coloured bill, while the main differences from the roseate are its slightly darker colour and longer wings. The Arctic tern's call is more nasal and rasping than that of the common, and is easily distinguishable from that of the roseate.


The Arctic tern resembles the common and roseate terns, but it differs slightly in terms of color, profile, and call. Its main distinction from the roseate tern are its slightly darker color and longer wings, while it varies from the common tern in that it has a longer tail and a monochromatic bill. The call of the Arctic tern is more nasal and raspy than the common tern, and it can be easily distinguished from the roseate tern.

Abilities

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.

Ecology

Arctic terns are long-lived birds, with many reaching fifteen to thirty years of age. They eat mainly fish and small marine invertebrates. The Arctic tern's meal varies depending on the season and location, but it is typically carnivorous. It typically consumes small fish or sea creatures. Fish species make up the majority of the diet and are responsible for more biomass consumption than any other type of food. Young (1-2 years old) shoaling organisms like herring, cod, sandlances, and capelin are the prey species. Amphipods, crabs, and krill are only a few of the sea crustaceans eaten. These birds occasionally consume mollusks, marine worms, berries, and insects on their northern breeding grounds.


Around the fourth or third year, breeding starts. Arctic terns typically return to a single colony each year and mate for life. Particularly in birds that are building their first nest, courtship is elaborate. The "high flight" phase of courtship involves the female pursuing the male up to a great height before descending gradually. "Fish flights," in which the male will present fish to the female, come after this display. On the ground, strutting is done while the wings are lowered and the tail is raised. Both birds will typically fly and circle one another after this.


Both sexes concur on a nesting location, and both will protect it. The male keeps on feeding the female during that time. Soon after, there is mating. Breeding occurs in colonies along the coast, on islands, and sporadically inland on tundra close to the water. In mixed flocks with common tern, it occurs frequently. For every clutch, it produces one three eggs, two.

Behavior

One of the most combative terns, it is ferociously protective of its nest & young. It will strike the top as well as the side of the head once assaulting people and dangerous animals. Although it is too small to seriously harm an animal the length of a human, it can still draw blood and deter many raptorial birds, polar bears, and other smaller mammalian predators like foxes and cats.

Distribution and Habitat

This species has a circumpolar range, breeding in the Arctic and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America as far south as Brittany (France) and Massachusetts (U.S.A.). It is a transequatorial migrant, and can be found wintering throughout the Southern Ocean to the edge of the Antarctic ice and the southern tips of South America and Africa. Overall population trends are unknown.


There are no recognized subspecies of the Arctic tern; it has a constant poleward breeding distribution throughout the world. During the northern summer, it can be found in coastal areas of cooler temperate regions of North America and Eurasia. It can be discovered at sea during southern summer, getting as far north as the Antarctic ice.


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