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69:, wintering in warmer coastal regions. Adults have light grey upperparts, whiter underparts, a black cap, orange-red legs, and a narrow pointed black-tipped red or all-black bill. The bird nests on any flat bare surface close to water, including rafts. The nest is a
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in 22 to 28 days. This tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish in the sea or freshwater. Eggs and young are vulnerable to predation by mammals and large birds. The common tern's large population and huge breeding range mean that it is classed as being of
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90:. Despite international protection, in some areas populations are threatened by
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by both sexes, that hatch in around 21 to 22 days. The downy chicks
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lined with whatever is available. It lays up to three blotchy
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61:regions of Europe, Asia and North America. This
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43:Sterna hirundo
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92:habitat loss
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75:camouflaged
38:common tern
51:subspecies
49:with four
79:incubated
67:migratory
59:subarctic
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159:About
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