BTO BirdFacts | Common Tern

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Page updated:16-January-2013

	Order: Charadriiformes	Family: Sternidae
	BTO Codes: CN, COMTE	EURING No: 6150
	Number in Britain: 10 thousand pairs (Summer)
	Conservation Status:
	UK: AMBER
	European: Not a species of concern
	Global: (Details)
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Status in UK: (A) Migrant Breeder, Passage Visitor
Subspecies: hirundo recorded in Britain (of 4 subsp. in the world)
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Length: 33 cm	Wingspan: 88 cm	Weight: M/F: 130 g

Scientific name from:	Old English: stearn=a tern and L.: hirundo=the swallow
World Distribution:	BREEDS: Eurasia & North America, WINTERS: s Europe, s Asia, Africa, Australia & South America

Habitat:	Sandy seacoasts, in winter marshes, estuaries
Diet:	Mostly fish, also crustaceans in some areas, mostly by plunge-diving
TitBit:	Remarkably similar to the Arctic Tern, they are often both referred to as 'commic' terns, but a dark-tipped bill, paler plumage and shorter tail streamers should help identify this bird; it also frequently nests inland, unlike its cousin.

	Population Trend:	JNCC Seabird Monitoring Programme
	Distribution:	No distribution maps available

British Population Size:

Summer: 10 thousand pairs in 1998-02 Mitchell, P.I. et al. (2004) Seabird populations of Britain and Ireland Poyser, London

First Record: Recorded in Anglo-Saxon times Bircham, P. 2007. A history of ornithology, Collins. [805 BIR]

Latest Survey: Mitchell, P.I. et al. (2004) Seabird populations of Britain and Ireland Poyser, London

Conservation Status: AMBER because Localised Breeding Population, Eaton, M.A. et al. 2009. British Birds 102:296-341

Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 GREEN Gregory, R.D. et al. 2002. British Birds 95:410-448

1996-2001 GREEN Gibbons, D.W. et al. 1996. RSPB Conservation Review 10:7-18

Races of Concern: hirundo AMBER (Rare or Localised)

Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):

Most frequent in: Estuaries

Relative Frequency in Each Habitat:

Migration routes: Map of foreign ringing recoveries and summary map from Time to Fly (in pop-up windows)

European Population Size:

Summer: 220 to 320 thousand pairs Bufield, I. & Van Bommel, F. (2004) Birds in Europe. Birdlife International, Cambridge.

Population Assesment from Birds in Europe

Distribution in Europe mapped by the EBCC Atlas

Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: WBD(I), Bern(III), Bonn(II*), AEWA

Survey Results:	Results from BirdTrack
	Summary text from Seabird 2000 (warning: link to large pdf)

Breeding and Survival
Egg Size: 41 x 31 mm	Egg Weight: 20.2 g (of which 5 % is shell)

Number of Nest Records: 292
Clutch Size: 2 - 3 eggs	2.55 ± 0.72 (1 - 3) N = 143
Incubation: 21- 22 days		by the: Female (occ. Male)
Fledging: 22 - 28days		as: Semi-precocial, downy

First Clutches Laid: Unavailable
Number of Broods: 1

Number Ringed: Annual Totals
Adult Survival: 0.900
Juvenile Survival: 0.470 (to age 2 )

Age at First Breeding: 3 years	Typical Lifespan: 12 years
Maximum Recorded Age: 33 years 0 months 6 days (set in 1996)
Read a summary of Ringing Recoveries

Biometrics
Ring Size: C2
Wing Length	Adult:	271.4 ± 6.5 Range 228.0 - 298.0 mm, (N = 304)
	Juvenile:	260.2 ± 8.1 Range 225.0 - 281.0 mm, (N = 829)
	Male:	Insufficient Data
	Female:	Insufficient Data

Weight	Adult:	129.5 ± 9.55 Range 92.70 - 176.0 g , (N =429)
	Juvenile:	130.4 ± 12.8 Range 90.0 - 175.0 . , (N =837)
	Male:	Insufficient Data
	Female:	Insufficient Data
	Seasonal:	Summer 125.2 ± 8.84 (N = 488) Autumn 132.6 ± 12.26 (N = 659)
	Source:	British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Ringing Scheme data

Other Names


Gaelic: Steàrnag-chumanta	Welsh: Morwennol Gyffredin
Danish: Fjordterne	Dutch: Visdief
Finnish: Kalatiira	French: Sterne pierregarin
German: Flußseeschwalbe	Hungarian: Küszvágó csér
Icelandic: Sílaþerna	Irish: Geabhróg
Italian: Sterna comune	Norwegian: Makrellterne
Polish: Rybitwa rzeczna	Portuguese: Andorinha-do-mar-comum
Spanish: Charrán común	Swedish: Fisktärna

Local Names:Sea Swallow, Darr, Rittack, Tarrock

For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
Hume, R. 1993 The Common Tern Hamlyn, London [598.616 HUM]
Hume, R. 1993 The Common Tern Hamlyn, London [598.616 HUM]
Palmer, R.S. (ed) 1941 A behaviour study of the common tern Boston Society of Natural History, Boston [598.616 PAL]

See Also:
Find scientific papers on Google Scholar or Scirus by clicking the icon
Wikipedia entry
BirdLife species page
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides
All About Birds (from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Details from the Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter
Read State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead

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