All Tern (Sterninae) are more elegant than seagulls and are generally smaller.
While flying, long and thin wings are bent backwards.
While flying, its body goes up and down in accordance with the wing movement.
Its beak is thin and pointed, its tail is pronged. It hangs in the air, tilting its head forward and looking for fish.
It feeds on live fish that it catches by diving into the water.
COMMON TERN (Sterna Hirundo):
It is the most common and abundant tern in the region.
The beak of the is bright red, the tip of the beak is dark, the lower part is white and the back is grey during reproduction.
As such, the colours create contrast. The fringes are dark in colour, the inside is translucent and white.
This difference can be seen from both above and below.
The wing tips are wide and scattered. During the reproductive period and especially in two-year-old terns, their foreheads may remain white.
The beak is black except during the breeding season.
The beak and legs of the young of which back is brownish are orange, with a white forehead, and a dark grey, thick strip in front of the wing. They are found in a variety of coastal and inland habitats ranging from sea level to altitudes of 4,000 meters. They usually nest on islands with sparse vegetation with flat rock surfaces, sandy beaches, dunes and sand scraps. They can also nest on sandy, rocky, or islands with good vegetation, along riversides, coastal lagoons, salt marshes, peninsulas, and grassy cliffs. In the inner parts, it is seen that they nest in similar habitats on the shores of the lakes, on small islets in lakes, including high rocks along the river. In addition, it is seen that they nest in marshes, ponds and grassy areas.
They nest in areas similar to the land it wants for a nest outside of the breeding season. It can stay in harbours, piers, beaches and wetlands such as lagoons, rivers, lakes, and swamps. It usually hunts by the seaside, in the mouths of the rivers. It also feeds in fresh water, such as in lakes, ponds or rivers. Tern, spreading over a very wide area, spreads as a belt in Asia, Europe and North America. A very small part of its population is resident while the majority is immigrant. It migrates to north at longitude where it is located for breeding purposes, breeds here and descends to the wintering areas to south again.
In our country, it spreads over a very large area. Terns can be seen to migrate to our country for breeding purposes or to the north for breeding. Although it is very rare in the high parts of our country, it can be seen in almost every region, especially in wetland environments.