Hydroprogne caspia
The Caspian Tern, Hydroprogne caspia, is the world's largest tern, an imposing presence with a length of 48-60 cm (19-24 in), a wingspan of 125-140 cm (49-55 in), and weighing 500-700 g (1.1-1.5 lbs). Its most distinctive field marks are its robust, blood-red bill with a dusky tip, a solid black cap extending to the nape in breeding plumage, pale grey upperparts, and pristine white underparts. Taxonomically, it belongs to the family Laridae and is the sole member of the genus Hydroprogne, hav...
Found primarily in coastal regions, large inland lakes, estuaries, and deltas, often favoring saline or brackish water environments at low elevations.
Primarily piscivorous, consuming a wide variety of fish species, but occasionally taking large aquatic invertebrates, small birds, or mammals, caught by plunge-diving.
Caspian Terns are diurnal and highly social, often roosting in large, noisy aggregations on secluded sandbars, beaches, or islands. They are expert plunge-divers, foraging by flying over water, pausing to hover, then dramatically diving head-first to catch fish. During the breeding season, they a...
The Caspian Tern exhibits a truly global distribution, breeding in widely scattered colonies across North America (primarily the Great Lakes, Pacific Coast, and Gulf Coast regions), Europe (notably the Baltic and Black Sea coasts), Asia (from Central Asia to Siberia and parts of China), Africa (l...
Least Concern
- The Caspian Tern is the largest tern species in the world, dwarfing most other terns with its impressive size. - Its distinctive blood-red bill is one of the most prominent field marks and is proportionally larger than that of other terns. - This species boasts an almost cosmopolitan distributi...