357:
38:
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369:
669:
688:
387:. The thin sharp bill is black, with a red base which develops through the breeding season, and is more extensive (to fully red) in the tropical and southern hemisphere subspecies. It is shorter-winged and has faster wing beats than common or Arctic tern. The upper wings are pale grey and its under parts white, and this tern looks very pale in flight, like a small Sandwich tern, although the outermost primary flight feathers darken during the summer. The adults have very long, flexible tail streamers and orange-red legs. In summer, the underparts of adults take on the pinkish tinge which gives this bird its name.
649:
95:
216:
70:
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With their favouring partly hidden nest sites, the provision of nestboxes has proven a dramatic conservation success, with the birds taking to them very readily. This results in greatly increased breeding productivity with the protection given to the young from predatory birds like
411:, almost invariably from the sea; it is much more marine than allied terns, only rarely visiting freshwater lagoons on the coast to bathe and not fishing in fresh water. It usually dives directly, and not from the "stepped-hover" favoured by
303:
and west Africa. Both the
European and North American populations have been in long-term decline, though active conservation measures have reversed the decline in the last few years at some colonies, most notably at
564:
In the late 19th century, these birds were hunted for their plumes which were used to decorate hats. More recently, their numbers have decreased in some regions due to increased competition and predation by large
482:). It nests in a ground scrape, often in a hollow or under dense vegetation, and lays one or two (rarely three) eggs. It is less defensive of its nest and young than other white terns, often relying on
939:
Gochfeld, M. & Burger, J. 1996. Family
Sternidae (terns). In: Del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A A. & Sargatal, J. (Eds). Handbook of birds of the world, Vol. 3. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 624–667.
892:
426:. This habit greatly increases their food-collecting ability during bad weather when fish swim deeper, out of reach of plunge-diving terns, but still within reach of the deeper-diving Puffins.
642:
The
Canadian Wildlife Service lists the roseate tern as Threatened. The U.S. Department of Interior lists the northeastern population as Endangered and the Caribbean population as Threatened.
620:
project over previous years involving wardening, newly designed nest boxes being placed strategically around the islands along with lures playing roseate tern calls and hand-made decoys.
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In winter, the forehead becomes white and the bill black. Juvenile roseate terns have a scaly appearance like juvenile
Sandwich Terns, but a fuller black cap than that species.
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668:
687:
923:
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This species breeds in colonies on coasts and islands, at times with other seabirds. In
Australian colonies, it has been recorded nesting alongside the
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1343:
998:
379:
This is a small-medium tern, 33–36 cm (13–14 in) long with a 67–76 cm (26–30 in) wingspan, which can be confused with the
1408:
1527:
631:, creating an alteration of vertical profile distribution for its food source fishes. The roseate tern is one of the species to which the
604:, the population rose from 25 pairs 1997 to 154 pairs in 2022 after nestboxes were provided. Similar measures have been undertaken at the
806:
1572:
1307:
893:"A phylogenetic framework for the terns (Sternini) inferred from mtDNA sequences: implications for taxonomy and plumage evolution"
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1447:
814:
1361:
976:. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government
800:
308:
off the coast of Dublin, Ireland, which now holds most of the
European population (about 1200 pairs). The tropical forms
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569:, whose numbers have increased in recent times. This species, as of 2019, is one of the UK's rarest breeding seabird.
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in the surrounding colony to defend them. In smaller colonies, they may rarely mate with these other tern species.
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37:
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This species has a number of geographical subspecies, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details.
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The largest
European colony, accounting for more than 75% of the European population, is in Ireland, at
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623:
In the UK the roseate tern has been designated for protection under the official government's national
1491:
1159:
1146:
1024:
837:
772:
1537:
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999:"Celebrating recent successes around Wales - RSPB Cymru Blog - We love Wales! - the RSPB Community"
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59:
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89:
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1208:
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Unusual for a tern, the roseate tern shows some kleptoparasitic behaviour, stealing
1221:
907:
831:
738:
612:. In 2018, for the first time in more than a decade, a pair fledged two chicks on
573:
538:
435:
415:. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.
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279:
270:
described the roseate tern in 1813. Genetically, it is most closely related to the
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1234:
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627:. One of the main reasons given in the UK plan for threat to the species is
577:
384:
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258:(1777–1814). "Roseate" refers to the bird's pink breast in breeding plumage.
79:
74:
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1059:
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in South Africa and the western Indian Ocean. Marine
Ornithology 33:41-47
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Supplement to the
Ornithological Dictionary, or Synopsis of British Birds
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588:, is also of crucial importance, with 155 pairs nesting there in 2013.
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Agreement on the
Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds
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502:
325:
300:
106:
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Tree, AJ (2005) The known history and movements of the Roseate Tern
1247:
1087:
890:
320:. They have more red on the bill. The long-billed and short-winged
126:
501:) and silver gull are known to prey on eggs and chicks, while the
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are resident breeders from east Africa across the Indian Ocean to
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239:
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breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America, and
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Nisbet, Ian C.; Gochfeld, Michael; Burger, Joanna (2014).
1012:
Annual Report of the Irish Rare Birds Breeding Panel 2013
580:. In 2013, 1213 pairs nested at Rockabill. The colony at
422:
from other seabirds, at British colonies most often from
993:
991:
891:
Bridge, Eli S; Jones, Andrew W; Baker, Allan J (2005).
383:, Arctic tern, and the larger, but similarly plumaged,
718:
533:
The call of the roseate tern is a very characteristic
332:. The north-western Indian Ocean holds populations of
278:), with their common ancestor a sister lineage to the
988:
1055:
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
830:
765:
744:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22694601A132260491.en
608:along with clearance of vegetation, in particular
336:. Some authors suggest that only three subspecies
829:
1519:
764:
407:terns, roseate tern feeds by plunge-diving for
1031:. Ithaca, New York: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
654:Late in the breeding season, the bill base on
254:refers to Scottish physician and collector Dr
364:showing its scaly mantle. Northumberland, UK.
802:The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names
214:
68:
36:
1578:Taxa named by George Montagu (naturalist)
879:. Exeter, England: Printed by S. Woolmer.
742:
596:. At the UK's most important colony, on
548:
393:
367:
355:
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968:Department of the Environment (2015).
544:
1069:
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900:Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
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375:often has an all-red bill. Indonesia.
1300:4a48e05e-35ef-4b95-8ef5-ea6425c34f76
974:Species Profile and Threats Database
958:
851:participating institution membership
805:. London: Christopher Helm. p.
786:participating institution membership
1528:IUCN Red List least concern species
823:
730:IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
541:, quite distinct from other terns.
398:
250:"stearn", "tern", and the specific
13:
792:
758:
14:
1589:
1047:
970:"Sterna dougallii — Roseate Tern"
686:
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93:
1573:Birds of the Dominican Republic
1016:
1005:
719:BirdLife International (2018).
480:Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae
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933:
857:
558:Capricornia Cays National Park
351:
1:
1029:Birds of North America Online
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7:
1060:Roseate tern: Madeira Birds
912:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.12.010
881:The pages are not numbered.
525:) are suspected predators.
429:
261:
10:
1594:
676:Sterna dougallii dougallii
614:the Skerries, off Anglesey
18:
16:Bird in the family Laridae
1548:Birds of the Indian Ocean
1147:Sterna_(Sterna)_dougallii
1077:
838:Oxford English Dictionary
799:Jobling, James A (2010).
773:Oxford English Dictionary
737:: e.T22694601A132260491.
537:, similar to that of the
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195:
188:
90:Scientific classification
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66:
57:
44:
35:
30:
625:Biodiversity Action Plan
1568:Birds described in 1813
1553:Birds of Southeast Asia
843:Oxford University Press
778:Oxford University Press
695:Sterna dougallii bangsi
560:, Queensland, Australia
495:white-bellied sea-eagle
19:For the racehorse, see
606:Anglesey tern colonies
561:
499:Haliaeetus leucogaster
472:Onychoprion anaethetus
448:Thalasseus bengalensis
376:
365:
552:
394:Behaviour and ecology
371:
359:
49:with all-black bill,
1543:Birds of Macaronesia
1295:Fauna Europaea (new)
452:greater crested tern
348:should be retained.
21:Roseate Tern (horse)
841:(Online ed.).
776:(Online ed.).
545:Conservation status
444:lesser crested tern
266:English naturalist
60:Conservation status
1563:Birds of Melanesia
1558:Birds of Australia
699:Muséum de Toulouse
680:Muséum de Toulouse
582:Lady's Island Lake
562:
507:Arenaria interpres
377:
366:
272:white-fronted tern
234:) is a species of
1515:
1514:
1461:Open Tree of Life
1071:Taxon identifiers
849:(Subscription or
816:978-1-4081-2501-4
784:(Subscription or
242:. The genus name
222:
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181:S. dougallii
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1505:Sterna-dougallii
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922:. Archived from
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574:Rockabill Island
539:spotted redshank
436:black-naped tern
399:Food and feeding
334:S. d. arideensis
306:Rockabill Island
293:S. d. dougallii
280:black-naped tern
246:is derived from
231:Sterna dougallii
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1001:. 19 June 2019.
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362:S. d. dougallii
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256:Peter McDougall
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147:Charadriiformes
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1025:"Roseate Tern"
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929:on 2011-04-19.
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554:S. d. gracilis
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523:Egernia kingii
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403:As with other
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310:S. d. korustes
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31:Roseate tern
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1033:. Retrieved
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468:bridled tern
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455:
447:
440:S. sumatrana
439:
433:
417:
404:
402:
389:
378:
373:S. d. bangsi
372:
361:
345:
341:
337:
333:
321:
314:S. d. bangsi
313:
309:
292:
291:
288:
284:S. sumatrana
283:
275:
265:
251:
243:
230:
229:
226:roseate tern
225:
223:
198:
196:
180:
179:
167:
46:
25:
1474:SeaLifeBase
1422:Neotropical
1383:NatureServe
1331:iNaturalist
1103:Wikispecies
750:13 November
660:Puerto Rico
658:turns red.
639:) applies.
610:Tree Mallow
476:silver gull
413:Arctic tern
381:common tern
352:Description
248:Old English
1522:Categories
1500:Xeno-canto
853:required.)
788:required.)
706:References
460:fairy tern
338:arideensis
324:breeds in
276:S. striata
1035:15 August
980:15 August
832:"Roseate"
511:black rat
503:turnstone
456:T. bergii
360:Juvenile
346:dougallii
326:Australia
301:Caribbean
252:dougallii
175:Species:
113:Kingdom:
107:Eukaryota
45:Nominate
1388:2.105391
1375:22694601
1349:10189074
1173:22694601
1168:BirdLife
1088:Wikidata
920:15804415
867:(1813).
767:"Sterna"
616:after a
430:Breeding
342:gracilis
262:Taxonomy
153:Family:
127:Chordata
123:Phylum:
117:Animalia
103:Domain:
80:IUCN 3.1
1313:5229249
1209:bob6140
1155:Avibase
1094:Q321293
693:Egg of
674:Egg of
424:puffins
297:winters
240:Laridae
206:Montagu
163:Genus:
157:Laridae
143:Order:
133:Class:
78: (
1533:Sterna
1492:137160
1466:285543
1453:137160
1427:roster
1414:289485
1362:176891
1320:GNAB:
1269:EURING
1248:roster
1196:roster
1122:roster
918:
813:
535:chuwit
517:) and
484:Arctic
474:) and
405:Sterna
244:Sterna
208:, 1813
168:Sterna
1487:WoRMS
1479:74527
1344:IRMNG
1287:96958
1256:EUNIS
1243:eBird
1222:6ZSB2
1193:BOW:
1186:10243
927:(PDF)
896:(PDF)
847:
782:
567:gulls
318:Japan
53:, UK
1448:OBIS
1409:NCBI
1370:IUCN
1357:ITIS
1336:4436
1308:GBIF
1274:6140
1261:1281
1181:BOLD
1037:2015
982:2015
916:PMID
811:ISBN
752:2021
735:2018
637:AEWA
618:RSPB
493:The
486:and
420:fish
409:fish
328:and
312:and
236:tern
224:The
137:Aves
1440:240
1396:NBN
1230:CMS
1217:CoL
1204:BTO
1142:AFD
1129:ADW
1118:ABA
954:PDF
908:doi
807:139
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
