The Common Tern: Its Breeding Biology and Social Behaviour

For more than twenty years the authors studied the complex breeding and social behaviour of colonies of terns. A significant dynamic of their social behaviour is their mobbing behaviour when they aggressively defend their nests against predators and will attack intruders, including human beings. Analysis of this and other behaviour's as they affect breeding and population provide fascinating insights in the study of birds.

The Common Tern (Hamlyn Species Guides)

An illustrated monograph on this lively, garrulous and graceful summer migrant, describing its breeding, migration, plumage, displays, courtship, feeding and nesting.

• ASIN : 0540012661
• Publisher : Hamlyn; First Edition (27 May 1993)
• Language: : English
• Paperback : 128 pages
• ISBN-10 : 9780540012664
• ISBN-13 : 978-0540012664
  

Status Review and Conservation Recommendations for the Gull-billed Tern

This publication is about the Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica), a medium-sized tern that breeds in small, scattered, often ephemeral colonies, typically in habitat devoid of vegetation near marine waters or saline lakes. In North America, the species breeds along the Atlantic coast south of New York, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific coast of California and Mexico.

The Bird of Light

Joy Hay is one of our very best essayists on the natural world, and The Bird of Light is a fine example of his work."? Peter Matthiessen Here is an evocative, closely observed portrait of terns, as the noted naturalist John Hay has watched these "tirelessly flying, excitable, vulnerable birds" for years on Cape Cod. Celebrating their beauty, Hay describes all aspects of the birds' lives, from threats by enemies (including human beings' neglect of the environment) to mating rituals, the wild tumult of a crowded nesting site, and their long-range migrations.

Hawaii’s White Tern

White Terns are native throughout the world’s tropics and subtropics, where they breed almost exclusively on remote islands that are free of predators like cats, dogs, rats, and mongooses. Historically, this was also true in Hawai‘i, but in 1961 a pair of White Terns laid an egg and raised a chick near Hanauma Bay. Since then their numbers in the city of Honolulu have steadily increased, and in 2007 the White Tern, also known by its Hawaiian name, Manu-o-Kū, was designated the official bird of the City and County of Honolulu.
Other native seabirds nest on O‘ahu and its nearby islands, but the graceful White Tern is the only species known to lay its eggs in the city’s non native trees, on window ledges, and on other man-made structures, making Honolulu unique among world cities. People who live in apartment buildings and work in office towers can watch parents brooding eggs and feeding chicks. An energetic fishing bird, the Manu-o-Kū can fly far from land in its search for fish and squid. Sailors on traditional voyaging canoes keep a close eye on them: as the sun starts to go down, the birds head home, effectively providing the bearing of nearby islands.

Birds of Paradox: The Life of Terns

Nesting along the sandy fringe of the North American coast from Maine to Florida, terns are graceful symbols of our coastal beaches, yet they lead fragile and frantic lives. Join educator, storyteller, and photographer Peter Trull as he describes the physical and behavioural differences among the four types of terns that nest in the Cape Cod area, their migratory habits and predators, and why they are called birds of paradox. Both a photographic journey and an ornithological diary, Trull describes his ten-plus years watching, recording, and photographing these birds from Massachusetts to the coast of Guyana. More than 100 photographs depict day-to-day life and never-before-seen behaviours from inside the dynamic, noisy nesting colonies. This engaging book offers momentary glimpses into the complexities of these erratic, agile seabirds―seemingly carefree but always on the hunt―and their struggle to survive.

Terns: New Naturalist

Terns are small seabirds that are commonly seen along coastlines and estuaries in the summer months – their graceful flight and command of the air are among their most attractive features.

Most of the five species of terns breeding in Britain and Ireland today are under intensive management, involving protection from predators, human interference, egg-collecting, recreational activities, land-use changes, and a range of issues concerning climate change, including rising sea levels and flooding of low-lying colonies. If these protective measures were abandoned then the numbers of terns would inevitably decline, with the possibility of several species ending up on the endangered list. Covering the history of terns in Britain and Ireland, David Cabot and Ian Nisbet explore these diverse issues as well as offering a comprehensive natural history of these stunning seabirds.

Drawing on a wealth of new information and research, the authors focus on migrations, food and feeding ecology as well as breeding biology and behaviour. Perhaps most importantly, they highlight recent conservation issues and prospects, and what this means for the future of terns.

Terns of Europe and North America

Covering 22 species found in the Western Palearctic and North America, this guide lists each species under the sections of: field identification; moult; description; geographical variation; measurements; and weight. It includes a quick reference section summarizing the key identification features.