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Forster's Tern

Sterna forsteri

Summary 6

The Forster's tern (Sterna forsteri) is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name Sterna is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and forsteri commemorates the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster.

Presence at Rosewood 7

Months Present: April-May
Seen on Surveys: April, July, October

"Months Present" obtained from Lahontan Audubon Society at https://www.nevadaaudubon.org/birds-in-town.html

Description 8

Forster's tern is a medium-sized tern with a slender body, deeply forked long tail and relatively long legs.

In its non-breeding plumage, the crown is white and a black comma-shaped patch covers the eye and the ear-covert. The wings are grey with the primaries being dark silver grey, while the underside is white. The bill is black and the legs are a dull brownish red.

When breeding, an intense black cap extending down the neck appears. The wings and the back are pale grey while the underside is bright white. It has a black-tipped orange bill and bright orange legs.

The juveniles have coloring similar to a non-breeding adult but often have darker primaries.

Vocalization 8

The common call of the Forster's tern is a descending kerr. The threat call used in defensive attack is a low harsh zaar. A succession of kerrs is used by the female as a begging call during courtship.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Bert Filemyr, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Bert Filemyr
  2. (c) Dick Daniels, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forster%27s_Tern_(Sterna_forsteri)_RWD2.jpg
  3. (c) Dick Daniels, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forster%27s_Tern_(Sterna_forsteri)_RWD1.jpg
  4. (c) gary_leavens, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sterna_forsteri_(Forster%27s_Tern)_15.jpg
  5. (c) Pete Romfh, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Pete Romfh
  6. Adapted by Hayden Wright from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterna_forsteri
  7. (c) Hayden Wright, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
  8. Adapted by Hayden Wright from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forster's_tern

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