Arctic Tern

Perhaps the world’s best-travelled birds, Arctic terns gather to breed in the world’s northernmost latitudes before following well-trodden migration routes to the Antarctic. Here they overwinter during the southern hemisphere summer. This means every bird flies between 44-48 thousand miles each year, the longest migration pattern recorded by any animal. Birds ringed in the UK have been recorded in southern Australia just three months later.

About 15 inches in length, and with a wingspan of around 28 inches, Arctic terns have a mainly white and grey plumage, with a black patch on the back of their head and neck. Their feet and narrow beaks are a bright red. The shape of their beak helps the terns tackle prey as diverse as fish and flying insects.

Because of their fondness for fish, Arctic terns can usually be found in coastal regions of northern Russia, Canada, and Europe, including Greenland and Iceland, but only during the summer months in the northern hemisphere. Outside of this breeding season, birders are unlikely to witness them from land.

Arctic terns are one of several bird species to breed for life, and pairs will generally return to the same colony every year to raise their young. Two eggs are most commonly laid. Both sexes take turns to incubate these eggs and to feed offshore on young (and therefore small) fish and crustaceans like krill and crabs. Food is sometimes stolen from larger birds on the wing.

Birds will get off the nest, which is sometimes little more than a dip in the ground, for short periods to defend the eggs, regardless of the size of the attacker. For this reason, Arctic terns are known to be one of the most aggressive of tern species, although they rarely attack human observers unless they get too close. Long periods off the nest defending it can extend the incubation period of an egg by as much as a week.


Other Arctic Wildlife

Arctic Fox / Arctic Hare / Arctic Wolf / Caribou / Musk Ox / Polar Bear / Bearded Seal / Beluga Whale / Narwhal / Ringed Seal / Walrus / Gyrfalcon / Puffin / Snowy Owl

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