Everything you need to know about Arctic terns – Natures …
Arctic Tern | Facts, pictures, and more about the Arctic tern, Arctic Tern Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of …
LIFE SPAN: 10 years. Common Name: Arctic tern. Category: Tern. Family: Laridae. Scientific Name: Sterna paradisaea.
A small, slender gray-and-white bird with angular wings, the Arctic Tern is well known for its long yearly migration. It travels from its Arctic breeding grounds to Antarctica where it enjoys the Antarctic summer, covering around 25,000 miles. Breeding birds sport a full black cap, short red legs, and a red bill.
LIFE SPAN: 10 years. Common Name: tern. Category: Tern. Family: Laridae. Scientific Name: Sterna hirundo.
Terns that nest in the Netherlands can travel over 90,000 km (55,900 miles) per year. Arctic terns travel an estimated 2.4 million km (1.491 million miles) in their lifetimes. That’s three round-trip flights to the Moon. Right before a colony of Arctic terns take flight, they grow silent.
Arctic Tern, A medium-sized bird with a red/orangish beak and feet, white forehead, a black nape, and crown.
The oldest recorded Arctic Tern was at least 34 years old, when it was recaptured and rereleased during a banding operation in Maine.
They have appeared on the postage stamps of several countries and territories. The territories include Åland Islands, Alderney, and Faroe Islands. Countries include Canada, Finland, Iceland, and Cuba.
This species is strongly migratory, seeing two summers each year.
There’s a phenomenon, called ‘dread moment’. It’s when a group of Arctic terns, just before taking flight, grows totally silent for a short time.
2003: The Arctic tern migrates the greatest distance of any bird species, breeding north of the Arctic circle and then flying south to the Antarctic and back again, approximately 80,467 km (50,000 miles).
