Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea   [Pontoppidan, 1763]

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   Page updated:16-January-2013

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Sternidae
BTO Codes: AE, ARCTE EURING No: 6160
Number in Britain: 53 thousand pairs (Summer)
Conservation Status:
UK: AMBER
European: Not a species of concern
Global: (Details)
Links to: Images   Videos   Sound  
Tips on  Identification
Status in UK: (A)  Migrant Breeder, Passage Visitor
Subspecies: Monotypic
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Length: 34 cm Wingspan: 80 cm Weight: M/F: 110 g    
Scientific name from: Old English: stearn=a tern and L.: paradisus=paradise
World Distribution: BREEDS: n Eurasia, n North America, WINTERS: sub Antarctic & Antarctic oceans
Habitat: Seacoast, tundra, lakes, rivers, in winter pelagic
Diet: Fish, crustaceans and insects
TitBit: Famed for their long-distance migration (one ringed as a chick on the Farne Is in June 1982 turned up in Melbourne, Australia, 22 000km by sea, in October), most return to the same area, even the same colony, they were hatched to breed.  

Population and Distribution

Population Trend: JNCC Seabird Monitoring Programme
Distribution: Atlas Maps   
British Population Size:
    Summer: 53 thousand pairs in 1998-02
    First Record: 1818
    Latest Survey: Mitchell, P.I. et al. (2004) Seabird populations of Britain and Ireland Poyser, London
    Conservation Status: AMBER because Recent Breeding Range Decline (1969-2007),
   Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 AMBER     1996-2001 AMBER  
   Races of Concern: dougallii RED (Recent Decline)
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
    No habitat data from BBS
Migration routes: Map of foreign ringing recoveries  and summary map from Time to Fly (in pop-up windows)
European Population Size:
    Summer: 480 to 850 thousand pairs
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
Results from http://www.arctictern.info
Summary text from Seabird 2000 (warning: link to large pdf)

Breeding and Survival

Egg Size: 41 x 30 mm Egg Weight: 19.0 g (of which 5 % is shell)
Number of Nest Records: 661
Clutch Size: 1 - 2 eggs 1.96 ± 0.55 (1 - 3) N = 453
Incubation: 20- 24 days   by the: Male + Female
Fledging: 21 - 24days as: Semi-precocial, downy
First Clutches Laid: Unavailable
Number of Broods: 1
Number Ringed: Annual Totals
Adult Survival: 0.900       
Juvenile Survival: No data
Age at First Breeding: 4 years Typical Lifespan: 13 years
Maximum Recorded Age: 29 years 11 months 27 days (set in 2010)
Read a summary of Ringing Recoveries

Biometrics

Ring Size: C2
Wing Length Adult: 272.0 ± 7.6     Range 243.0 - 295.0 mm, (N = 263)
Juvenile: 249.8 ± 8.5     Range 209.0 - 268.0 mm, (N = 222)
Male: Insufficient Data
Female: Insufficient Data
Weight Adult: 105.9 ± 8.97 Range 84.00 - 135.0 g , (N =221)
Juvenile: 106.2 ± 11.1 Range 73.0 - 138.0 . , (N =293)
Male: Insufficient Data
Female: Insufficient Data
Seasonal: Summer 105.8 ± 7.99 (N = 1176)   Autumn 106.8 ± 9.64 (N = 114)  
Source: British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Ringing Scheme data

Other Names

 
Gaelic: Steàrnag-Artaigeach Welsh: Morwennol y Gogledd
Danish: Havterne Dutch: Noordse stern
Finnish: Lapintiira French: Sterne arctique
German: Küstenseeschwalbe Hungarian: Sarki csér
Icelandic: Kría Irish: Geabhróg Artach
Italian: Sterna codalunga Norwegian: Rødnebbterne
Polish: Rybitwa popielata Portuguese: Andorinha-do-mar-árctica
Spanish: Charrán ártico Swedish: Silvertärna
Local Names:Sea Swallow, Darr, Rittack, Tarrock

For More Information...

Books and Monographs:
   Marples, G. & Marples, A. 1934 The sea terns or sea swallows Country Life Books, London [598.616 MAR]
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