Faulkner’s Interns and Chicks

Over the past month I have spent a lot of time watching both common terns and roseate terns while re-sighting bands or searching for roseate nests. During this time I have noticed some interesting differences between the common and roseate terns in both appearance and behavior.  Don’t get me wrong, I have great appreciation for the common tern, and it definitely has a special place in my heart, but I find it to be a slightly less captivating bird than the roseate tern.

This first difference you might notice between the two tern species is the bill (beak) color.  During the breeding season, the common tern bill is a bright orange  color with only the tip of the beak being black.  This bright bill seems to correlate well with its lively personality.  Second, common terns are very vocal; Falkner is almost never quiet for the terns are constantly calling.  Third, they are very bold birds.  They are very aggressive not only towards potential predators (which we are commonly mistaken for) but also towards each other.  They seem to constantly be bickering with their neighbors and sometimes their arguments escalate into physical altercations.  On occasion, you may see a bird fly over to another individual that is quite a distance away just to peck at it from above. Common terns will also come very close to humans and will even sit on our backs or hats. I see roseate terns as being the common tern’s more elegant cousin. During most of the breeding season their bills are deep ebony with their wings a contrasting pale grey and a very light rosy patch on their breasts. Their tails are significantly longer than the common terns, which create trail streamers that flow behind them when flying.  They are much more docile than their common tern neighbors, and I have rarely been mobbed by a roseate, even when handling their chicks. Their more timid nature makes them more distant, and they seldom approach humans.  Finally, they have extremely distinct vocalizations.  In opposition to their graceful appearances, the roseate makes a croaking “chi-vik” call, which sounds much too hoarse to be coming out of such a lovely bird. The difference in the behavior of these two species has, in part, greatly favored one over the other. The aggressive common terns have a stable population while the shy roseate tern is federally endangered. The common tern’s personality has not only helped to make it a successful species but also helps to protect the roseate offspring from predation by heavily guarding the colony from predators.  Our two tern species on Falkner are very different but at the same time both fascinating and beautiful in their own ways.