Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
Fjordternen er en 36 cm stor terne, der findes i det meste af Asien, i den nordlige del af Nordamerika og i det meste af Europa. Den danske bestand af ynglende fjordterner udgør omkring 1000 par, med de største kolonier i Vestjylland, bl.a.
Slim, 36 cm with pale grey upperparts, a solid black cap and a forked white tail; the best mark is the orange-red bill with a black tip. On a standing bird the tail reaches no further than the folded wingtips.
Can be confused with
- Arctic Tern — Arctic Tern has an all-red bill with no black tip, shorter legs, a smaller head and thinner neck, greyer underparts — and the tail projects beyond the folded wingtips. All the Arctic’s flight feathers are translucent against the light; on the Common Tern only the four innermost are.
Plumage and variation
Summer and winter: Outside the breeding season the forehead and underparts turn white, the bill goes all black or black with a red base and the legs dark red to black; a dark carpal bar shows on the leading edge of the wing.
Juvenile: Juvenile has pale grey upperwings with a dark carpal bar, a brown crown and nape and a ginger forehead that wears to white through the autumn.
Voice
The alarm is a sharp "KEE-yah", stressed on the first syllable; also a "keeur" when arriving at the nest with a fish, a short "kip" in contact, and an angry "kakakakaka" when attacking.
Behaviour
Forages by flying low with the bill pointing straight down, switching to a hover and plunge-diving from 1–6 m — rarely more than half a metre below the surface. An agile flier that turns sharply, hovers and takes off vertically. Breeds in dense colonies.
When and where
About 1,000 breeding pairs in Denmark, concentrated in West Jutland by the Wadden Sea and Nissum Fjord, plus mid-Zealand and Roskilde Fjord. Breeds on undisturbed shallow coasts and small islands, laying from mid-May; winters in Africa.
Facts
Wingspan
88 cm
Conservation status
ikke truet
Relatives
Family
gulls and terns
Laridae
Order
waders, gulls and auks
Charadriiformes
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