Black Tern
(Chlidonias niger)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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| IUCN Red List | LC - Least Concern |
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| NatureServe | N4B - Apparently Secure Breeding SNRB - Unranked Breeding |
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| Minnesota | not listed Species in Greatest Conservation Need |
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Description |
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Black tern is a small marsh tern. Adults are 91⁄16″ to 143⁄16″ (23 to 36 cm) in length and have a wingspan of 227⁄16″ to 23⅝″ (57 to 60 mm). Breeding adults have a black head, neck, breast, and underparts, and a gray back. The wings are long, pointed, and gray. The tail is gray and shallowly forked. The undertail coverts are white. The bill is long, slender, and black. The legs are short and reddish-black. Nonbreeding adults have white underparts and a white forehead. |
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Size |
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Total Length: 91⁄16″ to 143⁄16″ (23 to 36 cm) Wingspan: 227⁄16″ to 23⅝″ (57 to 60 mm) |
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Voice |
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Similar Species |
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| This is the only black tern. Other terns are light colored. | ||
Habitat |
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Breeding: Shallow cattail marshes in wetlands and at the edges of shallow lakes. Migration: Marshes near open water, flooded farm fields, edges of lakes and rivers, and sewage ponds. |
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Biology |
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Migration |
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Late April to early October |
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Nesting |
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A loose nest of dead plant material is built on floating vegetation or a muskrat mound. |
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Food |
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Insects and small fish |
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Distribution |
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Occurrence |
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Common migrant and breeder. Declining. |
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Maps |
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The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map |
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Taxonomy |
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| Class | Aves (birds) | ||
Order |
Charadriiformes (shorebirds and allies) | ||
Family |
Laridae (gulls, terns, and skimmers) | ||
Subfamily |
Sterninae (terns and noddies) | ||
Genus |
Chlidonias (marsh terns) | ||
Subordinate Taxa |
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Eurasian Black Tern (Chlidonias niger niger) American Black Tern (Chlidonias niger surinamensis) |
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Synonyms |
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Chilidonias niger |
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Visitor Photos |
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James Folden |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Slideshows |
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Visitor Videos |
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Other Videos |
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| Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) A Few Chirps a Little Preening - Galveston County Texas Colette Micallef |
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About
May 16, 2016 Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) A Few Chirps a Little Preening - Galveston County Texas - May 15, 2016 |
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| BLACK TERN flying Chlidonias niger Rob Curtis |
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About
Jul 7, 2016 Chlidonias niger = BLACK TERN flying Goose Lake, Hebron, IL. 6/20/2016. photo gallery at: http://theearlybirder.com/laridae/blacktern/index.htm |
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| American Black Tern (Chlidonias niger surinamensis) Andrew Cooper |
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About
Oct 9, 2019 A film of the American Black Tern at Longham Lakes, Dorset, UK on October 8th 2019 |
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Visitor Sightings |
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Report a sighting of this bird. |
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| James Folden 7/8/2018 |
Location: Nicollet County, over Swan Lake |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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Created: 3/5/2021
Last Updated: