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Bird Graphic 

 

 

Black Tern - (Chlidonias niger) 

 Audio

Identification

  • Small dark tern
  • Mostly black with grey back and
         upper wings
  • Under wings light grey, white under tail
  • Forked tail
  • Buoyant flight
  • Juvenile and winter birds are white
         below, black crown with black patch
         behind ear
  • 9.75" (25 cm.)

Habitat

  • Lakes and ponds
  • Large shallow freshwater marshes

Additional Information

  • Common migrant, fairly common local
        
    summer resident
  • Wisconsin species of special concern
  • Widespread population decline
  • Breeds in loose colonies
  • More common in southeastern Wisconsin

Black Tern in flight

Black Tern sitting on nest 

The Kickapoo Reserve Management Board acknowledges that the state and federal lands that comprise the Reserve fall within the ancestral homelands of First Nations people including the Hooçak Nation. We recognize the sovereignty of the Hooçak and other First Nations and will work towards a shared future by continuing to create collaborative opportunities to protect and preserve these lands.

Kickapoo Valley Reserve | S3661 State Highway 131 | La Farge, Wisconsin 54639 
Phone: 608-625-2960 | FAX: 608-625-2962
kickapoo.reserve@krm.state.wi.us

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