Scientific name:
Sterna hirundo

Natural spread:
Europe, Asia

river-terns lives at the coasts and shores of bigger seas and rivers of Eurasia (as far as to the Iran, to Afghanistan and North-China), further parts of North America as well as in west and North-Africa. In means and Western Europe's inland, Flußbegradigungen and drainages changed the habitat of this once frequent tern so strongly that it only occurs in larger number at the Meeresküsten today. But also here more areas (through coast-fortifications and especially through the reinforced utilization as human recuperation-areas) than brood-areas always are unable to participate for the terns. So, the river-tern is on the red list of the strongly endangered types with us today.

Shape The 35-36 cm long river-tern frequently broods near coast-terns, of whom it distinguishes its longer legs, the more orange-red beak-color (black top also of the incubation) and the stronger contrast between light stomach-plumage and gray upper side. Also, river-terns still occur in more southern areas than its near relatives.

Hibernation To the winter, also river-terns pull wide routes. The North American populations spend the winter Z. T. far in South America's south, while the European migratory birds hike into the western and southern Africa (and also to Madagascar).

Reproduction To the next season, river-terns appear at its last year's Nistplätzen again, that can lie on pebbly underground, in the dune-sand and in bigger grass-surfaces. Dependent on the underground, the female puts only a flat ground-hollow (in sand or grit) or one loosely from coarse plant-sharing linked nest at. The female begins end of May until beginning of June mainly with the brood of the 2-3 in the distance of 1-2 days of put eggs. After 20-23 days, the bedunten of giving birth, for whose dense dress the surroundings is fitted so very well, slip that one can still distinguish it only heavily from stones and gravel distance from few meters. they are usually fed with fishings, that were carried off in the "Stoßtauchen", by both parents. After approximately 28 days, the squabs then become fully-fledged.

The death rate of young river-terns is quite high, still in the adulthood goes 23 percent of a colony while at the base one year, as Beringungsversuche showed. The known maximum-age amounts to 25 years.