Roseate Tern

Sterna dougallii Montagu, 1813

33–36 cmLength76 cmWingspan112 gWeight

It is a pale tern with very long tail streamers and a pink wash on the underparts in summer.

Busiest months: May and July · Most records: United States, United Kingdom, China

Looks like Common Tern, Sandwich Tern

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Pink wash on underparts in summer
Tail streamers very long; legs orange-red
Bill slender, pointed and black, with base turning red in breeding season
Upperwing pale gray; underparts white, appearing very pale in flight

Male, female and young

Juvenile has a scaly appearance, with a more solid black cap than juvenile Sandwich Tern.

Voice

A distinctive “chuwit”, like the call of Spotted Redshank.

Similar species

Common Tern

Roseate Tern has shorter wings and faster wingbeats than Common Tern; its call is a distinctive “chuwit”.

Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern is larger with similar feathers; Roseate Tern is smaller, looking like a miniature version of it.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: May and July · Most records: United States, United Kingdom, China

Roseate Tern has been recorded at 401 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 68 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Parker River NWRUnited States886 records
Hammonasset Beach SPUnited States447 records
Plum IslandUnited States433 records

More places

Cape Island – CMP – Coral Ave. dune crossingUnited States327 records
Wellfleet Bay Wildlife SanctuaryUnited States238 records
Robert Moses SPUnited States203 records
Druridge Pools NWT NR and Druridge LinksUnited Kingdom184 records
Lanyang River Estuary IBATaiwan (China)181 records
Milford Point, CT AudubonUnited States179 records
Cape Island – Cape May Point SPUnited States175 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United States United Kingdom China Puerto Rico Ireland Spain Aruba Trinidad & Tobago

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The roseate tern (Sterna dougallii) is a species of tern in the family Laridae. The genus name Sterna is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and the specific dougallii refers to Scottish physician and collector Dr Peter McDougall (1777–1814). "Roseate" refers to the bird's pink breast in breeding plumage.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Roseate Tern?

The Roseate Tern is about 33–36 cm long, with a wingspan of 76 cm and weighs around 112 g.

Where does the Roseate Tern live?

Its breeding range: Worldwide: patchily temperate to tropical Atlantic, tropical Indian, and subtropical to tropical western Pacific to Vanuatu. It is most often recorded in United States, United Kingdom and China.

When is the best time to see the Roseate Tern?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in May and July (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Roseate Tern endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Roseate Tern as Least Concern.

What does the Roseate Tern eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Roseate Tern in?

It belongs to the family Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Length: 33–36 cm
Wingspan: 76 cm
Weight: 112 g
Habitat: Ocean
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Feeds in the air
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 224 mm
Tail: 166 mm
Bill: 45 mm
Tarsus: 20 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Worldwide: patchily temperate to tropical Atlantic, tropical Indian, and subtropical to tropical western Pacific to Vanuatu

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1

Sterna dougallii bangsi islands off tropical and subtropical e Indian and w Pacific oceans: Ryukyu Is. (s Japan), e China, Con Dao Is. (se of Vietnam), s Thailand, Malay Pen., New Guinea satellites, Bismarck Arch., Solomon Is., Vanuatu and New Caledonia including Loyalty Is.