Breeding Location:
Coastal, sea
Breeding Type:
Monogamous, Colonial
Breeding Population:
Fairly common in range
Egg Color:
White to pale buff with brown markings
Number of Eggs:
1
Incubation Days:
28 - 30
Egg Incubator:
Both sexes
Nest Material:
unlined; hides egg under matted plant material.
Migration:
Migratory
Recommended Products:
Overview
Bridled Tern: Medium pelagic tern. Black crown, nape separated from gray-brown upperparts by whitish collar. Chevron-shaped white forehead patch extends behind eye. Long pointed wings and deeply forked tail. Whitish underparts; underwings have brown trailing edge. Black bill, legs.
Range and Habitat
Bridled Tern: Pelagic. Breeds April - August in Florida Keys. Found in Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico and along shoreward edge of Gulf Stream north to North Carolina, rarely as far as New Jersey.
Breeding and Nesting
Bridled Tern: Monogamous; colonial. Common Caribbean species, nests off Florida Keys (Pelican Shoals). Single white to pale buff egg marked with brown, hidden on ground under matted plant material. Incubation ranges from 28 to 30 days and is carried out by both sexes. Young fed by both sexes, fledge at 55-63 days.
Foraging and Feeding
Bridled Tern: Eats small fish, squid, crustaceans, and insects. Hovers over water, swoops down to pick food from surface. Does not plunge dive. Feeds day or night.
Vocalization
Bridled Tern: Around nest "kowk-kowk," kwawk-kwawk," or "kahrrr." Rising nasal "weeep," or crowlike "wep-wep-wep," or "wup-wup."
Similar Species
Bridled Tern: Sooty Tern is larger, heavier in build, shorter tail, will alight on sea surface. Sooty Tern's white forehead patch does not extend beyond eye.
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