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The common tern [2] (Sterna hirundo) is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. Breeding adults have light grey upperparts, white ...
By the second summer, the appearance is very like the adult, and full mature plumage is usually attained by the third year. After breeding, terns moult into a winter plumage, typically showing a white forehead. Heavily worn or aberrant plumages such as melanism and albinism are much rarer in terns than in gulls. [11]
The game commission believes since 2012, 21 common tern nests have been started there but failed. Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania.
This is a large tern, second only to the Caspian tern but is unlikely to be confused with this "carrot-billed" giant, which has extensive dark underwing patches. The royal tern has an orange-red bill, pale gray upperparts, and white underparts. Its legs are black. In winter, the black cap becomes patchy. [11]
The roseate tern's name comes from the rose-colored underparts in the breeding plumage, which can be difficult to see on sunny days. An adult roseate tern catches a sand eel to deliver to a ...
Forster's tern also winters in marshes along the southern coast of the US and Mexico but can sometimes reach the northern extremity of Central America. It is also common for the tern to winter in the Caribbean. [6] It is a near-annual vagrant to Western Europe and has occasionally wintered in Great Britain and Ireland. [5]
The plumage of first winter birds is the same as the adult winter plumage. However, their moult into first summer plumage occurs later in the year than in adults. First year birds often remain in winter plumage as late as May, and their first summer plumage usually retains some white feathers around the throat. [14]
Plumage of a bird that is camouflaging. For example, the white winter plumage of ptarmigans is cryptic as it serves to conceal it in snowy environments. [134] The opposite, "advertising" plumage, is termed "phaneric", such as male birds in colourful nuptial plumage for sexual display, making them stand out to a high degree. [135] culmen