How to tell the difference between common terns and little terns<\/h2>Little tern \u00a9 Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>The\u00a0little\u00a0tern is one of the UK\u2019s smallest seabirds, weighing in at\u00a057g,\u00a0which is the equivalent of a\u00a0tennis ball.\u00a0These birds\u00a0have a\u00a0silvery\u00a0back\u00a0and\u00a0a\u00a0white belly.\u00a0They have a white forehead\u00a0with a\u00a0black cap\u00a0and a yellow bill with a black tip. Their legs are yellow\/orange in colour.<\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/01\/common-tern-scaled.jpg?fit=1024,1024\")
Common tern \u00a9 Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>The\u00a0common\u00a0tern\u00a0is bigger\u00a0in\u00a0size and more likely to be seen\u00a0by\u00a0inland\u00a0water bodies\u00a0as well as coastal regions.\u00a0This bird is slightly harder\u00a0to distinguish from other terns<\/a> than the\u00a0little\u00a0tern, mainly due to it\u00a0its\u00a0size.\u00a0Silvery grey\u00a0back\u00a0and white belly, this bird has a black cap, and its bill is more orangey-red in colour with a black tip. Their legs are red in colour.\u00a0<\/p>Do common terns and little terns share the same habitat<\/strong>?<\/h2>Common\u00a0terns are often found inland, near water\u00a0sources such as wetlands, gravelly shores of lakes\u00a0and reservoirs,\u00a0whereas little\u00a0terns’\u00a0nest exclusively in coastal habitats. Despite the common terns’ British breeding range expanding to inland areas, there has been\u00a0a\u00a0loss\u00a0of numbers\u00a0in coastal colonies.\u00a0<\/p>
There has\u00a0also\u00a0been a decline in little tern numbers in recent years. These changes are due to\u00a0both environmental and\u00a0human-made\u00a0reasons. One being climate change causing unusually high tides and flooding nesting areas. Another\u00a0is\u00a0human disturbance on the coastline from recreational activities, which can result in disturbed adult terns leaving their nest<\/a> \u2013 this leaves eggs\u00a0and chicks<\/a>\u00a0vulnerable to cold and predation.\u00a0Living near fresh and saltwater means that both birds feed by hovering over bodies of water and plunge diving from 10-15\u00a0metres\u00a0for their fish prey.\u00a0<\/p>Little terns generally return to the UK in April\u00a0to coastal breeding colonies. Courtship\u00a0displays\u00a0are elaborate\u00a0aerial chases high\u00a0in the sky\u00a0and involve the male carrying fish to attract a mate\u00a0before descending back to the beach. These little birds\u00a0create nests called scrapes. Scrapes\u00a0are shallow\u00a0bowls\u00a0made by the terns scraping their\u00a0bellies\u00a0on sand and shingle surfaces.\u00a0<\/p>
Common terns\u00a0also return to the UK in April\u00a0with pairs initially bonding in aerial courtship, this continues back on the ground through males\u00a0displaying their wings and offering gifts of fish to the females.\u00a0Similarly\u00a0to the little terns, these birds also create\u00a0shallow\u00a0scrapes\u00a0for nesting.\u00a0<\/p>
Where to find them?<\/strong><\/h2>Little tern colonies\u00a0are\u00a0now often protected\u00a0by temporary fencing\u00a0and staff or volunteers from conservation organisations monitoring the birds\u00a0throughout the breeding season.\u00a0When\u00a0visiting\u00a0sites,\u00a0it\u2019s best to research the accessibility before\u00a0travelling\u00a0and to respect the birds you are viewing\u00a0–\u00a0therefore adhering\u00a0to any directions or signage that may be in place.\u00a0<\/p>
Two\u00a0of the largest little tern colonies\u00a0in the UK are\u00a0at\u00a0Winterton in East Norfolk and\u00a0Gronant in\u00a0North Wales.\u00a0While a few\u00a0of the largest common tern colonies\u00a0in the UK are\u00a0South\u00a0Walney\u00a0in Cumbria and\u00a0Cemlyn\u00a0Bay reserve,\u00a0North\u00a0Wales.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"o you know your common tern from your little tern? Carys McMillan from the Cheshire Wildlife Trust explains the difference <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":35864,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference.jpg",2560,1711,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference-300x201.jpg",300,201,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference-768x513.jpg",768,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference-1024x684.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference-1536x1027.jpg",1536,1027,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference-2048x1369.jpg",2048,1369,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"o you know your common tern from your little tern? Carys McMillan from the Cheshire Wildlife Trust explains the difference","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/35863"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The\u00a0little\u00a0tern is one of the UK\u2019s smallest seabirds, weighing in at\u00a057g,\u00a0which is the equivalent of a\u00a0tennis ball.\u00a0These birds\u00a0have a\u00a0silvery\u00a0back\u00a0and\u00a0a\u00a0white belly.\u00a0They have a white forehead\u00a0with a\u00a0black cap\u00a0and a yellow bill with a black tip. Their legs are yellow\/orange in colour.<\/p> The\u00a0common\u00a0tern\u00a0is bigger\u00a0in\u00a0size and more likely to be seen\u00a0by\u00a0inland\u00a0water bodies\u00a0as well as coastal regions.\u00a0This bird is slightly harder\u00a0to distinguish from other terns<\/a> than the\u00a0little\u00a0tern, mainly due to it\u00a0its\u00a0size.\u00a0Silvery grey\u00a0back\u00a0and white belly, this bird has a black cap, and its bill is more orangey-red in colour with a black tip. Their legs are red in colour.\u00a0<\/p> Common\u00a0terns are often found inland, near water\u00a0sources such as wetlands, gravelly shores of lakes\u00a0and reservoirs,\u00a0whereas little\u00a0terns’\u00a0nest exclusively in coastal habitats. Despite the common terns’ British breeding range expanding to inland areas, there has been\u00a0a\u00a0loss\u00a0of numbers\u00a0in coastal colonies.\u00a0<\/p> There has\u00a0also\u00a0been a decline in little tern numbers in recent years. These changes are due to\u00a0both environmental and\u00a0human-made\u00a0reasons. One being climate change causing unusually high tides and flooding nesting areas. Another\u00a0is\u00a0human disturbance on the coastline from recreational activities, which can result in disturbed adult terns leaving their nest<\/a> \u2013 this leaves eggs\u00a0and chicks<\/a>\u00a0vulnerable to cold and predation.\u00a0Living near fresh and saltwater means that both birds feed by hovering over bodies of water and plunge diving from 10-15\u00a0metres\u00a0for their fish prey.\u00a0<\/p> Little terns generally return to the UK in April\u00a0to coastal breeding colonies. Courtship\u00a0displays\u00a0are elaborate\u00a0aerial chases high\u00a0in the sky\u00a0and involve the male carrying fish to attract a mate\u00a0before descending back to the beach. These little birds\u00a0create nests called scrapes. Scrapes\u00a0are shallow\u00a0bowls\u00a0made by the terns scraping their\u00a0bellies\u00a0on sand and shingle surfaces.\u00a0<\/p> Common terns\u00a0also return to the UK in April\u00a0with pairs initially bonding in aerial courtship, this continues back on the ground through males\u00a0displaying their wings and offering gifts of fish to the females.\u00a0Similarly\u00a0to the little terns, these birds also create\u00a0shallow\u00a0scrapes\u00a0for nesting.\u00a0<\/p> Little tern colonies\u00a0are\u00a0now often protected\u00a0by temporary fencing\u00a0and staff or volunteers from conservation organisations monitoring the birds\u00a0throughout the breeding season.\u00a0When\u00a0visiting\u00a0sites,\u00a0it\u2019s best to research the accessibility before\u00a0travelling\u00a0and to respect the birds you are viewing\u00a0–\u00a0therefore adhering\u00a0to any directions or signage that may be in place.\u00a0<\/p> Two\u00a0of the largest little tern colonies\u00a0in the UK are\u00a0at\u00a0Winterton in East Norfolk and\u00a0Gronant in\u00a0North Wales.\u00a0While a few\u00a0of the largest common tern colonies\u00a0in the UK are\u00a0South\u00a0Walney\u00a0in Cumbria and\u00a0Cemlyn\u00a0Bay reserve,\u00a0North\u00a0Wales.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n o you know your common tern from your little tern? Carys McMillan from the Cheshire Wildlife Trust explains the difference <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":35864,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference.jpg",2560,1711,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference-300x201.jpg",300,201,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference-768x513.jpg",768,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference-1024x684.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference-1536x1027.jpg",1536,1027,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/01\/common-terns-vs-little-terns-what-is-the-difference-2048x1369.jpg",2048,1369,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"o you know your common tern from your little tern? Carys McMillan from the Cheshire Wildlife Trust explains the difference","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/35863"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Do common terns and little terns share the same habitat<\/strong>?<\/h2>
Where to find them?<\/strong><\/h2>
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