The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a slender seabird of the gull and tern family, measuring 33–39 cm long with a wingspan of 75–85 cm and weighing just 90–120 grams. It shows light grey upperparts, a greyish-white underside, a black cap, an all-red bill without a black tip, very short red legs, and an extremely long, deeply forked tail. Its call is a sharp, high-pitched "kriiä-kriiä," higher and shriller than the similar Common Tern's.
Famous as the world's most long-distance migrant, the Arctic Tern flies roughly 70,000 km a year between the Arctic and Antarctic, and as a result experiences more daylight annually than any other living creature; individuals can live 30 years or more, equivalent to some 2 million km flown in a lifetime. In Sweden it breeds along the northern Baltic coast, the Norrland coastline and on mountain wetlands and larger fjäll lakes, with a population estimated at 25,000–35,000 pairs; birds arrive in April–May and depart in autumn for the southern oceans and Antarctic waters. It nests colonially on rocky ledges or tussocks, laying two eggs, and feeds on small fish and crustaceans caught by plunge-diving from heights of 2–8 metres above the water. The similar Common Tern can be told apart by its bill, which has a black tip, and by its longer legs.
Read about this species in Swedish →