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Hydroprogne caspia

(Pallas, 1770)

Caspian Tern

G5Secure Found in 31 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104635
Element CodeABNNM08020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyLaridae
GenusHydroprogne
Synonyms
Sterna caspiaPallas, 1770
Other Common Names
Caspian tern (EN) Charrán Caspia (ES) Sterne caspienne (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Formerly (AOU 1983, 1998) included in the genus Sterna but separated on the basis of genetic data that correspond to plumage patterns (Bridge et al. 2005).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-08
Change Date1996-11-27
Edition Date1995-05-01
Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
Rank Reasons
Large range, increasing numbers in some areas.
Range Extent Comments
BREEDS: Eastern U.S.: locally on Atlantic and Gulf coasts, from Virginia to northern Florida (very few), also recently in New Jersey, on the central Gulf Coast of Florida, and in southeastern Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas; and around the Great Lakes. Canada: Labrador, southeastern Quebec, and Newfoundland; Great Lakes region in southern Ontario; southern Manitoba and central Saskatchewan, along shores of Lake Winnipeg, Lake Winnepegosis, and Dore Lake; in Lake Athabasca in northeastern Alberta; and vicinity of Great Slave Lake in southern Mackenzie. In western North America: locally (mostly in interior but on coast in Washington and California) in Washington, eastern Oregon, northern Utah, northwestern Wyoming, Idaho (recent range expansion), and North Dakota, south to southern California and western Nevada; also Baja California and Sinaloa. WINTERS: southern U.S. (mainly coastal areas north to California and North Carolina) south to Mexico; sometimes to northern South America (Colombia, Venezuela), rarely in the West Indies. Casual in Hawaii. Breeds and winters extensively also in the Old World (Africa, Eurasia, Australian region).
Threat Impact Comments
Disturbance and development of nesting habitat are major threats.
Ecology & Habitat

Description

A large stocky tern with a stout orange to coral red bill, grayish flight feathers, white underparts, and a moderately forked tail; adult has black cap in breeding season; immature and adults in basic plumage have a dusky or streaked crown; average length 53 cm, wingspan 127 cm (NGS 1983).

Diagnostic Characteristics

Differs from most other terns in much larger size and much thicker bill. Differs from the somewhat smaller royal tern in having a thicker bill, more extensive dark coloration on the underside of the primaries, and a less deeply forked tail; lacks the white forehead that is present in immature and basic plumages of royal and elegant terns.

Habitat

Seacoasts, bays, estuaries, lakes, marshes, and rivers.

Nests on sandy or gravelly beaches and shell banks along coasts or large inland lakes; sometimes with other water birds. Pacific coast populations formerly nested mainly in inland marshes, now mainly on human-created habitats (e.g., salt pond dikes and levees) along coast; nests on dredge-spoil islands in North Carolina and Florida. See Spendelow and Patton (1988) for further details. In northeastern Lake Michigan, tended to use same colony site in successive years unless previous reproductive effort was unsuccessful (Cuthbert 1988).

Ecology

Nonbreeding: often rests with flocks of other terns. At a colony at the mouth of the Columbia River, 50% of adults foraged within 8 kilometers and 90% foraged within 21 kilometers (Collis et al. 1999); at other colonies, some adults travel long distances to obtain food; up to 50 kilometers on Lake Michigan (Cuthbert and Wires 1999) and 29-60 kilometers in another reported case (Gill 1976). At expanding colonies on the Pacific Coast, birds exhibited low natal philopatry (Collis et al. 1999), but elsewhere adults show strong fidelity to colonies (Cuthbert 1988).

Reproduction

Along the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast, nesting begins by late May or early June. Clutch size usually is 2-3. Incubation, by both sexes, lasts 20-22 days. Young are tended by both parents, leave nest in a few days, first fly at 4-5 weeks. Parental care (feeding) may extend up to 5-7 months after fledging. Nests singly or usually in colonies of up to several thousand pairs (5000+ at Sand Island, Washington).
Terrestrial Habitats
Sand/dune
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN4B,N4N
ProvinceRankNative
OklahomaS2NYes
CaliforniaS4Yes
TexasS4BYes
New JerseyS3B,S4NYes
IllinoisSNAYes
OhioSNAYes
ArkansasSNAYes
ConnecticutSNAYes
MontanaS2BYes
IdahoS1BYes
New MexicoS4NYes
Navajo NationSNAYes
FloridaS2Yes
KansasSNAYes
GeorgiaS4Yes
IndianaS1BYes
KentuckySNAYes
MarylandSNAYes
ColoradoSUBYes
VirginiaS1B,S2NYes
MissouriSNAYes
North CarolinaS2B,S1NYes
TennesseeS4NYes
LouisianaS1B,S3NYes
VermontS1BYes
New YorkS1Yes
OregonS4Yes
NevadaS2BYes
West VirginiaSNAYes
AlaskaS1BYes
UtahS2Yes
WyomingS1Yes
Rhode IslandS1NYes
MichiganS2Yes
IowaS3NYes
PennsylvaniaSNAYes
WisconsinS1B,S2NYes
AlabamaS2B,S4NYes
South DakotaS1BYes
DelawareSNAYes
District of ColumbiaS1NYes
MassachusettsS2NYes
MinnesotaSNRMYes
ArizonaS1NYes
WashingtonS3BYes
South CarolinaS4NYes
NebraskaSNRNYes
MississippiS4NYes
CanadaN3B,N5M
ProvinceRankNative
Prince Edward IslandSUMYes
British ColumbiaS3BYes
QuebecS1BYes
AlbertaS3BYes
New BrunswickSNAYes
LabradorS1B,SUMYes
ManitobaS3BYes
Nova ScotiaSNAYes
Island of NewfoundlandS2B,SUMYes
Yukon TerritoryS1BYes
OntarioS3B,S5MYes
Northwest TerritoriesS3Yes
NunavutS2BYes
SaskatchewanS2BYes
Roadless Areas (31)
Alaska (8)
AreaForestAcres
Chugach-13Chugach National Forest13,337
Copper River WetlandsChugach National Forest85,972
Fidalgo-GravinaChugach National Forest257,968
North BaranofTongass National Forest314,089
RedoubtTongass National Forest68,347
Sitka UrbanTongass National Forest112,003
Upper SitukTongass National Forest16,789
Yakutat ForelandsTongass National Forest323,648
California (6)
AreaForestAcres
Devil's Gate (CA)Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest9,946
Glass MountainInyo National Forest52,867
Hoover - Mt.olsenHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest624
MonoLos Padres National Forest28,141
Mt. JacksonHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest20,721
Mt. OlsenInyo National Forest2,161
Idaho (2)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekCaribou-Targhee National Forest118,582
Borah PeakSalmon-Challis National Forest130,463
Montana (1)
AreaForestAcres
Cube Iron - SilcoxLolo National Forest36,998
Nevada (3)
AreaForestAcres
Pearl PeakHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest71,405
Ruby - Lamoille CynHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest32,771
WildhorseHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest11,204
Oregon (1)
AreaForestAcres
TahkenitchSiuslaw National Forest5,799
Utah (7)
AreaForestAcres
418025Uinta National Forest32,698
418027Uinta National Forest13,884
418029Uinta National Forest15,673
Bunker CreekDixie National Forest7,474
CottonwoodDixie National Forest6,754
Fishlake MountainFishlake National Forest25,217
WellsvilleWasatch-Cache National Forest1,717
Washington (2)
AreaForestAcres
Black CanyonOkanogan National Forest9,681
Rock CreekWenatchee National Forest32,239
Wyoming (1)
AreaForestAcres
Munger MountainBridger-Teton National Forest12,827
References (48)
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