The Caspian tern (''Hydroprogne caspia'')
[ is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no accepted ]subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
.[ The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''hudros'', "water", and Latin ''progne'', " swallow". The specific ''caspia'' is from Latin and, like the English name, refers to the Caspian Sea.]
Description
It is the world's largest tern with a length of , a wingspan of and a weight of .[ Adult birds have black legs, and a long thick red-orange bill with a small black tip. They have a white head with a black cap and white neck, belly, and tail. The upper wings and back are pale grey; the underwings are pale with dark primary feathers. In-flight, the tail is less forked than other terns, and wingtips are black on the underside.][ In winter, the black cap is still present (unlike many other terns), but with some white streaking on the forehead. The call is a loud heron-like croak.][
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Distribution and habitat
Their breeding habitat is large lakes and ocean coasts in North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
(including the Great Lakes), and locally in Europe (mainly around the Baltic Sea and Black Sea), Asia, Africa, and Australasia (Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and New Zealand). North American birds migrate
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
to southern coasts, the West Indies and northernmost South America. European and Asian birds spend the non-breeding season in the Old World
The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
tropics. African and Australasian birds are resident or disperse over short distances.[
In 2016, a nest of the Caspian tern was found in the Cape Krusenstern National Monument in northwestern Alaska, 1,000 miles further north than any previous sighting. This development was part of a general trend in Alaska of species moving to the north, a tendency ascribed to global warming.]
The global population is about 50,000 pairs; numbers in most regions are stable, but the Baltic Sea population (1400–1475 pairs in the early 1990s) is declining and of conservation concern.[
The Caspian tern is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' ( AEWA) applies.
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Behaviour
Feeding
They feed mainly on fish, which they dive for, hovering high over the water and then plunging. They also occasionally eat large insects, the young and eggs of other birds and rodents. They may fly up to from the breeding colony to catch fish; they often fish on freshwater lakes as well as at sea.[
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Breeding
Breeding is in spring and summer, with one to three pale blue-green eggs, with heavy brown spotting, being laid. They nest either together in colonies, or singly in mixed colonies of other tern and gull species. The nest is on the ground among gravel and sand, or sometimes on vegetation; incubation lasts for 26–28 days. The chicks are variable in plumage pattern, from pale creamy to darker grey-brown; this variation assists adults in recognizing their own chicks when returning to the colony from feeding trips. Fledging occurs after 35–45 days.[
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Gallery
File: Caspian Tern takeoff RWD.jpg, Preparing for takeoff
File: Caspian tern in flight at DeKorte Park (42079).jpg, Caspian tern in flight
File:Two caspian terns.png, Two Caspian terns in flight
References
External links
Caspian Tern species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q27129
Caspian tern
Birds of Central Asia
Birds of Eurasia
Birds of Madagascar
Birds of North America
Birds of the Dominican Republic
Birds of Oceania
Birds of West Africa
Birds of Africa
Caspian tern
Cosmopolitan birds
Holarctic birds