Arctic Tern

The word tern via an East Anglian dialect, from some Scandinavian (North Germanic) language, related to Danish terne, Norwegian terne, and Swedish tärna, all from Old Norse þerna (“tern; maidservant”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *þewernā (“handmaid, young girl”). First attested in the 1670s.

• Singular: tern

• Plural: terns

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.

At up to 70,000–90,000 km annually, the Arctic tern's flight holds the record for the longest yearly migration of any animal. This tern has an incredibly efficient metabolism, uses wind systems, and glides and soars. The species is highly migratory, experiencing two summers annually as it travels along a complicated path from its northern breeding grounds to the Antarctic coast for the southern summer and back again roughly six months later. These terns experience more daylight than any other species, effectively living in "perpetual summer."

In Rapunzel's universe, when prey is splashed with the freezing liquid that Arctic terns may spit out, it can quickly render them unconscious. It is believed that this skill developed because of a need to raise the percentage of prey that can be caught in order to supply enough food for a pack before or after the migration.

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.

Reproduction

• Breeding season: Arctic summer (June–July)

• Nesting:

  • Simple ground scrape

  • Often on gravel, tundra, or sparse vegetation

• Clutch size: 1–3 eggs

• Incubation: ~21–23 days

• Parental care:

  • Both parents incubate and feed chicks

  • Chicks fledge in ~3–4 weeks

• Strong site fidelity—many return to the same nesting area year after year.

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.

Threats

• Climate change: Melting sea ice affects prey availability

• Overfishing

• Pollution (especially plastics and oil)

• Coastal development near nesting sites

• Increased storm frequency affecting chicks

Conservation Status

• IUCN Red List: Least Concern (LC)

Conservation Efforts

• However:

  • Some regional populations are declining.

• Protected under:

  • International migratory bird agreements.

• Arctic conservation programs.

• Anti-poaching enforcement.

• Rescue and rehabilitation centers.

• Awareness campaigns against illegal pet trade.

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.

During The Recollections of Queen Arianna (TROQA) saga in the 2600s and 2700s, the "Sky People," or Terrans from Earth, brought the Arctic tern to two exoplanets that resembled Earth: Berbania from Ursa Major and Reinachos from Cygnus. Despite the death of our planet, conservation efforts are helping this species recover from endangerment or near extinction. The tern became an invasive species as a result of human interactions for game hunting and rewilding. In two exoplanets that resembled Earth, the Arctic tern lived in conditions and climates identical to those of Earth.

• Movement Pattern: Full Migrant

• Individual Type: Gather

• Population Trend: Increasing

• Population: ???

• Locomotion: Versatile

• Habitat: Polar; Tundra; Taiga; Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests; Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Salt Flats; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Mushroom Forests; Mushroom Fields; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Graveyard Vale; Mountain; Sky; Warm River; Cold River; Lukewarm River; Warm Littoral; Cold Littoral; Warm Intertidal; Cold Intertidal; Radiated Citadel; Volcano; Warm Ghost Town; Cold Ghost Town; Ruined Skyscraper.

• Earth: see below

  • Extant (Breeding): Belgium; Estonia; Faroe Islands; Greenland; Iceland; Latvia; Lithuania; Netherlands; Norway; Russia (Eastern Asian Russia, Central Asian Russia, European Russia); Spain; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; United Kingdom; United States

  • Extant (Non-breeding): Antarctica

  • Extant (Passage): Austria; Costa Rica

  • Extant (Seasonality Uncertain): Mexico

  • Extant (Resident): Angola; Argentina; Australia; Benin; Bermuda; Bolivia; Brazil; British Indian Ocean Territory; Cabo Verde; Cameroon; Canada; Chile; Colombia; Congo; Cuba; Côte d'Ivoire; Denmark; Ecuador; Equatorial Guinea; Falkland Islands (Malvinas); Finland; France; Gabon; Gambia; Germany; Ghana; Greece; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Ireland; Japan/Nihon; Liberia; Mauritania; Morocco; Namibia; New Zealand; Nigeria; Paraguay; Peru; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Sweden; Togo

  • Extant & Vagrant (non-breeding): Panama

  • Extant & Vagrant (passage): Guadeloupe; Kuwait; Oman; Sudan; United Arab Emirates

  • Extant & Vagrant (seasonality uncertain): Montenegro; Serbia; Uruguay

  • Extant & Vagrant: Algeria; Belarus; Bulgaria; Central African Republic; DR Congo; Croatia; Cyprus; Czechia; Egypt; French Southern Territories; Gibraltar; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Israel; Italy; Jordan; Lesotho; Libya; Luxembourg; Marshall Islands; Mozambique; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Senegal; Slovakia; Switzerland; Turkey; Ukraine; Virgin Islands, U.S.

  • Extant & Origin Uncertain (seasonality uncertain): Bouvet Island; Heard Island and McDonald Islands

  • Extant & Origin Uncertain: Guatemala

The Arctic tern was unsuitable and prohibited in the majority of nations in our universe. These include the inability to control migratory instincts, specialized diets, extreme stress in confinement, and protected animal species. Failure to thrive and behavioral collapse are common outcomes of captivity.

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_tern

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22694629/132065195

• https://www.azquotes.com/quote/997864?ref=sea-birds

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Arctic-Tern-919268623