# Roseate Tern

Scientific name: Sterna dougallii

Bird group: [gull](https://birdsofpuertorico.com/family/gull)

Canonical source: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/bird/132/Roseate-Tern

## Identification

The roseate tern (Sterna dougallii) is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name Sterna is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and the specific dougallii refers to Scottish physician and collector Dr Peter McDougall (1777–1814). "Roseate" refers to the bird's pink breast in breeding plumage.
This is a small-medium tern, 33–36 cm (13–14 in) long with a 67–76 cm (26–30 in) wingspan, which can be confused with the common tern, Arctic tern, and the larger, but similarly plumaged, Sandwich tern. The roseate tern's thin sharp bill is black, with a red base which develops through the breeding season, and is more extensive in the tropical and southern hemisphere races. It is shorter-winged and has faster wing beats than common or Arctic tern. The upper wings are pale grey and its under parts white, and this tern looks very pale in flight, like a small Sandwich tern, although the outermost primary flight feathers darken during the summer. The adults have very long, flexible tail streamers and orange-red legs. In summer, the underparts of adults take on the pinkish tinge which gives this bird its name.


## Distribution and habitat

The Roseate Tern occurs throughout the worlds tropical 
and subtropical oceans, and it 
is generally uncommon to rare 
in the West Indies (Raffaele and 
others 1998). Small breeding 
colonies can be found from The 
Bahamas through the Greater 
Antilles, especially in the Virgin 
Islands and cays off southwestern 
Puerto Rico (Oberle 2018), which 
support the largest population 
of Roseate Terns in the tropical 
Atlantic Ocean (Raffaele and 
others 1998). It is described 
as fairly abundant during the 
summer in coastal areas of 
Puerto Rico (Biaggi 1997) and 
is a regular breeder off Culebra 
and cays south of La Parguera 
in the municipality of Lajas (Oberle 2018), as well as other 
cays near Puerto Rico (Biaggi 
1997). On Vieques, it is a fairly 
common breeding visitor in 
summer (Gemmill 2015, Johnson 
1988), extremely rare in fall, and 
rare in spring (Gemmill 2015). 
It usually inhabits coastal areas, 
harbors, and lagoons (Raffaele 
and others 1998). The atlas 
fieldwork yielded a total of 42 
records within 27 hexagons or 6 
percent of the 479 total hexagons 
(see map). Of the 27 hexagons 
where this tern was found, 
breeding met the atlas definition 
of confirmed in 30 percent (8) 
of the hexagons and probable in 
4 percent (1), while the species 
was observed in 67 percent (18) 
of the hexagons but without 
evidence of breeding (see map). Roseate Tern distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones in 
Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.      123Roseate Tern/Palometa

## Breeding

Previously published reports indicate that the Roseate Tern 
breeds from May to July (Raffaele 
and others 1998). Nesting is 
usually colonial on offshore cays, 
and the nest consists of a scrape 
in the sand or a rocky depression 
(Raffaele and others 1998). On 
Culebra, the terns nest on cliffs 
between boulders (Oberle 2018). 
Breeding colonies are very local, 
but birds are regularly observed 
along coastal waters during the 
breeding season (see map). Atlas 
results show that this species 
breeds from May to July (see chart). Overall, the breeding 
activity peaks in June, and it 
mostly takes place within the 
subtropical dry forest life zone 
(see chart). Results show that this 
species breeds mostly in coastal 
areas within the subtropical dry 
forest life zone (67 percent of the 
hexagons) and the subtropical 
moist forest life zone (33 percent 
of the hexagons) (see table 
and map).

## Conservation

The current overall population trend of the Roseate Tern is 
described as uncertain or unknown as some populations 
are decreasing, while others are 
stable or increasing (Wetlands 
International 2012). This species 
is currently listed as a species 
of least concern by the IUCN 
(BirdLife International 2018). 
However, it is locally listed as a 
threatened species by Federal 
laws (Oberle 2018, USFWS 1973). 
In Puerto Rico, the Roseate Tern 
has a protected habitat in land of 
16 percent or 35 km2 of the total area covered by the hexagons 
where evidence of breeding was 
found for this species (214 km2).

Photo: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_132_Im0.png.webp

Distribution map: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_132_Im1.png.webp

Source note: Text is reproduced from this site's published record. Historical conservation statements and taxonomy have not been independently revalidated. See https://birdsofpuertorico.com/about for source credits and limitations.