Arctic Tern
Sterna paradisaea
APPEARANCE
Arctic terns have webbed feet and long forked tails. They have white cheeks and grey throats, backs and bellies. They have orange legs in the summer and dark legs in the fall and winter. Their head feathers look like a solid black cap and they have black wing tips. Their bills are bright red in the summer and black in the winter.
Range & Habitat
These birds have the longest migration of any bird. They spend the winter in Antarctic seas and the summer in the Arctic which means they must fly over 35,000 kilometres. In B.C. they only breed in the northwest corner of the province. They spend most of their life in the open ocean but come to grassy coastal cliffs and summer lakes to breed.
Reciprocal Relationships
Arctic terns are unique birds with gifts of persistence and resourcefulness. These birds must fly great distances, and in doing so they have a diet with a variety of sea life. In their travels arctic terns eat small fish, shrimp, and krill. A female tern lays one to two eggs in a protected area near the water. Both parents look after the eggs and the hatchlings. A mature arctic tern can live to be 20 years old. Arctic terns are communal birds that live in large colonies together.
Arctic terns are predicted to lose 20-50% of their habitat due to climate change, and populations have been declining in the last 25 years. Because these birds fly great distances, they must be protected across country borders such as through the US and Canadian migratory bird acts. The amazing migrations that these birds have must be protected through our actions due to their importance across ecosystems and cultures.
The arctic tern is a very important species to the Nunavik Inuit. They consider the eggs to be a delicacy, and gathering these eggs allows the community to come together on the land.
Arctic terns are predicted to lose 20-50% of their habitat due to climate change, and populations have been declining in the last 25 years. Because these birds fly great distances, they must be protected across country borders such as through the US and Canadian migratory bird acts. The amazing migrations that these birds have must be protected through our actions due to their importance across ecosystems and cultures.
The arctic tern is a very important species to the Nunavik Inuit. They consider the eggs to be a delicacy, and gathering these eggs allows the community to come together on the land.
More information
If you belong to a First Nation with a story or piece of information not represented here and you would like to share more about this species, please email us at education@sierraclub.bc.ca.
Photo Credit
Canva
