Common Terns are the most populous colonial seabird on Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge - the USFWS has focused on restoring terns due to their extremely low population levels after the large-scale slaughter of seabirds in the 19th century. The common tern populations in Maine have rebounded amazingly over the past fifty years. 

Fabulous Flight Feathers

Common Terns, like other terns, have beautiful long flight feathers that are more than twice the length of their bodies. These feathers were highly sought after for women’s hats in the late 19th century, and the mass murder of terns resulted in their extirpation from Maine’s coast. The tern’s return to the islands has been due to the efforts of Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Service and partners. However, these colonies are unlikely to succeed without active stewardship.

Far flung travelers

Terns are renowned for their epic migrations, and although Common Terns do not complete the same globe-spanning trek as their arctic cousins, they still make to round trips spanning more than 20,000 miles.

Agile flyers and divers

Common Terns are fantastic flyers: they can actually soar straight up into still air from the ground! Their primary method of feeding is to take sharp dives into the water and capture fish near the water’s surface. The Common Tern’s diving range is typically between 3-20 feet above the water’s surface. The overfishing and warming of the world’s oceans has severely depleted common terns' primary food source of fish near the surface of the ocean, as more and more fish move to find colder water.

Brave Birds

These birds are not shy! Common Terns display highly agonistic behavior, swooping and diving with painful accuracy towards humans who invade their nesting sites. They are also aggressive towards territorial intruders - both adult and chick. Furthermore, adult terns are aggressive towards any sick, injured, or struggling tern. They often hover above the bird, shrieking, and sometimes diving at it. Despite this behavior, terns breed in colonies, sometimes containing thousands of mated pairs.