Birdsong field guide
Black Tern
Chlidonias niger
A small, elegant marsh tern known for its distinctive dark breeding plumage and graceful, swallow-like flight. Unlike most terns, it primarily hunts insects over freshwater wetlands rather than diving for fish in the ocean.
What it sounds like
A sharp, metallic, and somewhat raspy 'kik' or 'klee-a', often repeated when defending territory.
Reference call, compare with what you heard
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Field notes
- It belongs to the 'marsh tern' genus Chlidonias, which typically nests on floating mats of vegetation in shallow water.
- During the breeding season, adults exhibit a striking soot-black head and torso, which molts into a mostly white and mottled gray pattern for winter.
- The species is highly social, frequently nesting in loose colonies and migrating in large flocks along coastal flyways.
- Its diet is primarily insectivorous during the summer, consisting of dragonflies, damselflies, and midges caught in mid-air.
- North American populations have seen a significant decline since the 1960s, largely due to the drainage and degradation of prairie pothole wetlands.
Habitat
Freshwater marshes, fens, and lake edges with emergent vegetation; coastal estuaries and pelagic zones during migration.
Range
Breeds across temperate North America and Eurasia; winters in coastal Central and South America and tropical Africa.
Similar & commonly confused birds
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