Common Tern

The Common Tern looks light and agile, with a deeply forked tail and a neat, pointed bill. In breeding plumage, the dark cap and bright legs make it feel especially crisp and alert.

It is a noisy, colony-nesting species that spends a lot of time over water. It hunts by diving straight down for prey, and courtship includes aerial displays, with the male offering fish to the female.

It favors open shores, islands, sand or shingle, and other flat places near water, and it can also use rafts or even rooftops. It mainly eats small fish, but also takes molluscs, crustaceans, and insects; most populations move south for winter.