| Least Tern | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Laridae |
| Genus: | Sternula |
| Species: | Sternula antillarum |
The smallest of the American terns, the Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) is found nesting on sandy beaches along the southern coasts of the United States and up the major river systems far into the interior of the continent.
Taxonomy[]
The Least Tern was once considered a subspecies of the Little Tern (Sternula albifrons), an Old World species. Both were included in the genus Sterna, before they were moved to the new genus Sternula along with five other species.
Appearance[]
The Least Tern measures 9 in (23 cm) in length and spans 20 in (51 cm) across its wings. Adults are gray above and white below, with black cap and nape and a white forehead. The legs are orange-yellow. The bill is yellow with a dark tip. The wings have black outer primaries. Juveniles are pinkish-buff above, with U-shaped markings, a dusky crown, and dark shoulder bars.
Voice[]
Its calls include a high-pitched kip and a harsh chir-ee-eep.
Behavior[]
Feeding[]
Its diet consists of small fish and some invertebrates. It forages by plunging into water from flight and may hover briefly before plunging.
Breeding and Nesting[]
The Least Tern appears at its breeding grounds in late April. It nests in not so dense colonies and sometimes in isolated pairs, mainly along either marine or estuarine shores, or on sandbar islands in large rivers, in areas free from humans or predators. In courtship, the male carrying its prey in bill flies upward, followed by the female, and then both dive down. The display on the ground includes courtship feeding. The nest is a shallow scrape in sand, soil, or pebbles, sometimes lined with grass and debris. Clutch of 1 to 3 eggs are laid, perhaps rarely more, and 1 brood is raised every year, sometimes 2 raised per year in the south. Both parents incubate on the nest, with female incubating more in early stages and male more in the later stages; incubation period is from 20 to 25 days.
Distribution and habitat[]
Fairly common on the East Coast and the Gulf Coast, and rarer inland and on the West Coast, the Least Tern nests in colonies on beaches and sandbars. It winters in Central America.