Tern (redirected from Terns)

tern, common name for a sea bird of the Old and New Worlds, smaller than the related gull. Because of their graceful flight and their long pointed wings and forked tails, some terns are called sea swallows. They plunge headlong into the water to catch small fish. The arctic tern migrates from the arctic to the antarctic. American terns include the common, least, Forster's, noddy, sooty, roseate, and royal terns, all of the genus Sterna. Terns are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Charadriiformes, family Laridae.

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tern

Any of about 40 species (subfamily Sterninae, family Laridae) of slender, web-footed, migratory water birds found almost worldwide. Species vary from 8 to 22 in. (20–55 cm) long. The plumage is white, black-and-white, or black; the sharply pointed bill is black, red, or yellow; and the feet are red or black. Most species have long, pointed wings and a forked tail. Terns plunge into the water to catch crustaceans and fishes. They breed colonially, usually on the ground on islands. See also Arctic tern.

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tern¹

any aquatic bird of the subfamily Sterninae, having a forked tail, long narrow wings, a pointed bill, and a typically black-and-white plumage: family Laridae (gulls, etc.), order Charadriiformes

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tern²

a three-masted schooner

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Tern 

any one bird of the subfamily Sterninae of the family Laridae of the order Charadriiformes. The body measures 20 to 55 cm long. The wings are long and narrow, and the tail is forked. The bill is pointed and, in contrast to that of the gulls, is not hooked. The tern’s flight is light and rapid. The bird is a good swimmer.

There are ten genera, comprising 43 species, which are widely distributed. In the USSR there are five genera, comprising ten species. Terns live on the shores of seas, small streams, and lakes. They usually nest in colonies on sand banks. Chlidonias species nest on overgrown lakes; some tropical terns (the genera Anous and Gygis) nest on bushes and trees. One to four eggs are laid per clutch and incubated 14 to 22 days. Terns feed primarily on aquatic insects and small fish; some species feed on lizards and locusts.

The most common species in the USSR are the common tern (Sterna hirundo), which is distributed throughout the country except the Far North; the arctic tern (S. paradisaea), which inhabits the northern part of the country and in the winter migrates to the South Atlantic; and the black tern (Chlidonias nigra), which inhabits the middle and southern belts (in the east as far as the Ob’ River).

REFERENCE

Ptitsy Sovetskogo Soiuza, vol. 3. Edited by G. P. Dement’ev and N. A. Gladkov. Moscow, 1951.

A. I. IVANOV