tern, © Index Openany of about 40 species of slender, graceful water birds that constitute the subfamily Sterninae, of the family Laridae, which also includes the gulls. Terns inhabit seacoasts and inland waters and are nearly worldwide in distribution. The largest number of species is found in the Pacific Ocean. Many terns are long-distance migrants, the most notable being the Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea). The Arctic tern breeds in the southerly reaches of the Arctic and winters in Antarctic regions, thus making the longest annual migration of any bird.
Terns range in length from about 20 to 55 cm (8 to 22 inches). Compared with gulls, they are more slender, shorter legged, and longer winged. They range in colour from white to black and white to almost entirely black. The bill of various species may be black, red, or yellow, while the feet are red or black. Their feet are webbed. Most species have long and pointed wings, forked tails, and sharply pointed bills.
Terns sometimes eat insects, but the bulk of their diet consists of crustaceans and small fish, which they catch by diving through the air and plunging into the water. Terns are gregarious birds and breed colonially, usually on the ground on islands. Sometimes they form breeding colonies of millions of individuals. Most species lay two or three eggs, although a few species lay only one egg. In some parts of the world tern eggs are gathered for human consumption.
There are five species of noddy terns, or noddies, belonging to the genus Anous. Noddies, named for their nodding displays, are tropical birds with wedge-shaped or only slightly forked tails. A distinct type of tern, the Inca tern (Larosterna inca), of Peru and northern Chile, bears distinctive white plumes on the side of the head.
The most typical terns are the approximately 30 species of the genus Sterna, with forked tail, black cap or crest, and pale body. The black tern, S. nigra (sometimes Chlidonias niger), about 25 cm (10 inches) long, with a black head and underparts (white below in winter) and gray wings and back, breeds in temperate Eurasia and North America and winters in tropical Africa and South America. It is called a marsh tern because it nests inland on freshwater marshes and around lakes. The common tern (S. hirundo) is about 35 cm (14 inches) long and has a black cap, red legs, and a red bill with a black tip. It breeds throughout northern temperate regions and winters on southern coasts. The least, or little, tern (S. albifrons), under 25 cm (10 inches) long, is the smallest tern. It breeds on sandy coasts and river sandbars in temperate to tropical regions worldwide except South America. The sooty tern (S. fuscata), about 40 cm (16 inches) long, has a white forehead and is otherwise black above and white below. It breeds in huge, noisy colonies on oceanic islands in warm regions.