Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

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Color Photograph: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 14 to 17 inches.

Adult Summer Plumage: Crown of the head black, lower half of face white. Bill black, reddish toward the base, narrow, and slightly curved. Neck, breast, and undersides white. Wings and back gray. Underside of wing without a black suffusion along the rear margin. Tail extremely deeply forked, more so than in other North American tern species. Legs reddish.

Adult Winter Plumage: Similar to the summer plumage, but head white without a black crown, and with dull black around the eye stretching to the back of the neck. Bill all black.

Immature: Similar to the adult winter plumage, but forks of the tail shorter.

Similar Species:  The Roseate Tern can be difficult to separate from the Arctic Tern and the Common Tern. Both of these species have red bills, not black. However the Common Tern can have a black tip to the bill and be difficult to separate from the summer plumage of the Roseate Tern. The forked tail of the Roseate Tern is much deeper than that of either of these two species. In addition the rear margin of the apex of the wing of the Arctic Tern and Common Tern are suffused with black. This black, rear margin is absent in the Roseate Tern. The immatures of these three species are nearly impossible to separate. The Roseate Tern can be distinguished from the Caspian and Royal Terns by their thicker red or yellow-orange bills and black feet.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Roseate Tern has a rare and restricted breeding range in North America from Nova Scotia to Long Island. The species is also found in Europe, Asia, East Africa, and the Pacific.

Overwintering Range:  This species overwinters in the tropics of both hemispheres.

Habitat: The Roseate Tern is found on beaches and islands.

Food: Small fish, squid, and crustaceans.

Behavior: The Roseate Tern is a rare species with a restricted breeding range in North America. It appears to be dominated by the Common Tern and apparently competes for nesting sites with it. Roseate Terns are commonly found with Common Terns, but along the margins of the colonies. The voice is a loud zaap.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 2 to 3 brown-spotted tan or olive-green eggs. The eggs are laid in a ground depression. The depression may be lined with grass. The nest may be on open beach, but is often concealed in plants or among rocks.