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Arctic tern
Sterna paradisaea
The Arctic tern migrates an astonishing distance - further than any other bird. It spends April-September in the Arctic where it breeds, before travelling some 12,000 km (7,500 miles) to Antarctica to enjoy a second summer in the south.
Life span
Arctic terns are fairly long-lived and have been known to reach about 30 years of age.
Statistics
They are around 34cm (13in) in length with a wingspan of about 80cm (31in).
Physical Description
This is a white and grey tern with a black capped head and deeply forked tail. Its bill turns bright red in the Arctic spring and summer.
Distribution
This bird migrates huge distances and, as a consequence, is found in an array of places.
The tern spends all year enjoying the summer. It nests in such places as Denmark, Iceland, northern Russia and Greenland in the Arctic summer. It then flies to the southern hemisphere, sometimes as far as the Antarctic ice, to enjoy a second summer down South.
Habitat
This is an oceanic bird, found around sea coasts and sometimes inland waterways. It particularly likes rocky cliffs and islands.
Diet
Arctic terns are fish-eaters, they hover above the surface of the water before diving into the sea. They commonly take sand eels, capelin and other shoaling fish.
Behaviour
The Arctic tern's most distinctive behaviour is the 12,000km (7,500 mile) journey it makes to and from its Antarctic breeding grounds. Most of the journey is made over the sea, rather than land, and is triggered by changes in day length. Even fledgling terns undergo this long migration, probably aided by their parents. The total distance travelled by an individual bird is around 35,000km (21,700 miles) per year.
Reproduction
Courtship involves a ceremonial 'fish fight' during which the male takes a fish in his mouth and flies over the female. If she is receptive, she joins in with much wailing and screaming. Arctic terns typically mate for life. After courtship and mating, one or two brown, speckled eggs are laid on a rocky or grassy ledge. Both parents incubate the eggs, which hatch after about 22 days. They are fed shrimp, insects and small fish for a period of around 21-28 days, after which the young fledge.
Conservation status
Arctic terns were once hunted for their feathers. Now, their biggest threats are from pollution and egg predators, such as other gulls, foxes, racoons and rats.
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