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The diet of the Arctic tern varies depending on location and time, but is usually carnivorous. In most cases, it eats small fish or marine crustaceans . [ 10 ] [ 19 ] Fish species comprise the most important part of the diet, and account for more of the biomass consumed than any other food.
Aleutian terns are reported to spend less time brooding chicks than do Arctic terns; consequently, Aleutian tern mortality rate is higher during the chick stage. [ 6 ] The eggs typically have an elongate ovate shape [ 12 ] and range from 40–46 mm (1.6–1.8 in) length.
The common tern may attempt to steal fish from Arctic terns, [98] but might itself be harassed by kleptoparasitic skuas, [99] laughing gulls, [100] roseate terns, [101] or by other common terns while bringing fish back to its nest. [98] In one study, two males whose mates had died spent much time stealing food from neighbouring broods. [102]
The Arctic tern migrates the greatest distance of any bird. Seabird migration is similar in pattern to those of the waders and waterfowl. Some, such as the black guillemot Cepphus grylle and some gulls , are quite sedentary; others, such as most terns and auks breeding in the temperate northern hemisphere, move varying distances south in the ...
Terns are generally long-lived birds, with individuals typically returning for 7–10 breeding seasons. Maximum known ages include 34 for an Arctic tern and 32 for a sooty. Although several other species are known to live in captivity for up to 20 years, their greatest recorded ages are underestimates because the birds can outlive their rings. [5]
The Antarctic tern does not migrate like the Arctic tern does, but it can still be found on a very large range. This tern species is actually more closely related to the South American tern. [2] Gulls, skuas and jaegers are the primary predators of the bird's eggs and young. The Antarctic tern can be further divided into six subspecies.
The Arctic cod is also part of the diet for many of the birds in Lancaster Sound and marine mammals. Many narwhal, beluga, bowhead whale, ringed, bearded and harp seals, walrus, polar bears, thick-billed murres, black-legged kittiwakes, northern fulmars, black guillemots, Arctic terns, ivory gulls and snow geese all occupy the area.
Forster's tern: Sterna forsteri: North America. Snowy-crowned tern or Trudeau's tern: Sterna trudeaui: Argentina, south-east Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Arctic tern: Sterna paradisaea: Arctic and Subarctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America (as far south as Brittany and Massachusetts). South American tern: Sterna hirundinacea