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Bird name:

Roseate Tern

Sterna dougallii

Order

CHARADRIIFORMES

Family

Terns (Sternidae)

BTO 2

BTO 5

ROSTE

Euring 5

06140

Breeding Location:

Beaches, coastal, Islands

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Egg Colour:

Smooth and creamy or olive with brown to olive specks, spots and scrawls.

Number of Eggs:

1 - 3

Incubation Days:

21 - 26

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Scrape on sand or shingle, sometimes on rocks.

Nest Location:

On sand or shingle banks or rocky shores.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Roseate Tern: Small, pale waterbird with a black cap and pointed black bill with a red base. Back and wings pale grey and white with dark grey and black on leading edge of primaries. Underparts white with pale pink coloration on breast. Long, forked tail white. Orange legs and feet. Winter adults like summer birds but black on shoulder, black bill, and white front. Juveniles have shorter bill, shorter tail, and pink-grey legs and feet. Also more grey on the wings, fine streaks on the crown, and pale brown and black mottling on back.

Range and Habitat

Roseate Tern: Rare summer breeder in the UK & Ireland. Birds can be seen from late spring through summer. Breeding grounds are found in a few colonies on the east coasts of England and Scotland, coastal Wales, and in Ireland. Birds spend the winter at sea.

Breeding and Nesting

Roseate Tern: Monogamous. Breeding begins in mid-May. Both parents build nest, which is a scrape on sand or shingle on coastal beaches and islands. Female lays 1 to 3 eggs and incubates them for 21 to 26 days with help from male. Both parents feed young. Second clutch possible if first is lost.

Foraging and Feeding

Roseate Tern: By plunge-diving in the ocean it feeds mainly on fish. Found along the sandy seacoasts in the summer while it winters in the open ocean. Occasionally this bird will steal fish from other seabirds.

Vocalisation

Roseate Tern: Call is soft "chi-weep"; alarm signal is high clear "keer" or drawn-out "zra-ap" (like ripping cloth). Attack is "zhrrraaaaach."

Similar Species

Roseate Tern: Common Tern has a shorter tail, cleaner head cap, slightly shorter bill and has darker grey upperparts. Sandwich Tern is light grey also, but shows shaggy black crest and is heavier built.

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Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Cap

The area on top of the head of the bird.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Primaries

The primaries are the flight feathers specialized for flight. They are attached to the "hand" equivalent part of the wing.

Shoulder

The short feathers overlying the median secondary coverts on the top of the wing. They are located near the back and can be seen as the “first row” of feathers on the birds wing. They are also called marginal coverts and lesser secondary coverts.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of the United Kingdom