Mother
Feeding her young
Baby chicks calls out for food
Mother feeds her chick for the first time
Fact file
They dive towards the water picking off fish just below the surface. The Common Tern is the most widespread tern
Arctic Terns are slightly smaller overall than Common Terns, with a shorter bill, shorter legs, and a rounder head with a steeper forehead—but distinguishing the two species takes practice.
Common Terns primarily eat small fish typically less than 7 inches long, but also take crustaceans, squid, and insects. They take fish on the wing that are close to the water's surface or plunge dive to just under the surface. They also steal fish from each other and from other tern species and gulls.
The common tern can be found breeding across most of Europe and Asia and in parts of North America. After the breeding season, the terns migrate south to spend their winter along the coasts of the tropics and the southern hemisphere in areas including Africa, South America and South-east Asia.
