Common tern

    Sterna hirundo

Castilian: Charrán común

Catalan: Xatrac comú

Gallego: Carrán común

Euskera: Txenada arrunta

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Charadriiformes

Family: Sternidae

Migratory status: Summer resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Near Threatened”.

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THREATS

The primary problem is the alteration of its habitat, but the location and concentration of its colonies should also be taken into account because they can be harmed by the hydrologic regime, pollution, lack of food due to overfishing, etc. The abuse of pesticides in some coastal areas where rice is grown is also significant.

Length / size: 32-39 cm / 72-83 cm

Identification: Medium-sized tern whose back and wings are light grey, while its rump, forked tail and underparts are white, and its legs are red. In summer the adult has a black pointed hood that extends across the nape, as well as a red bill with a black tip; in winter its forehead is white and its bill is dark.

Song: Very noisy in colonies, it presents a wide variety of vocalisations. It makes a fast series of "keet-keet-keet" and a "keyary-keyary-keyary".

Diet: It feeds on small fish, crustaceans and insects. In general, it fishes by hovering in the air at a low altitude then launching itself bill-first into the water and diving in search of its prey.

Reproduction: It breeds in colonies, and between late March and early April, the breeding specimens begin to arrive. The nest is placed on the ground, uncovered or protected by a bush, and both sexes are responsible for incubation. The chicks are born with their eyes open, covered in down, and within a few days they leave the nest to take refuge in the vegetation.

HABITAT

It occupies both coasts and inland areas, in very diverse habitats. In the Iberian Peninsula it breeds in coastal areas with shallow waters and sandy bottoms, such as deltas, lakes, salt marshes and marshes.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: When breeding, it is found isolated in certain places along the Mediterranean coast and commonly in the Ebro Delta, the meadows of Valencia, and the westernmost Canary Islands. During migration, it is abundant, but this is not true during winter.

In Castile and León: It only breeds in the Cuerda del Pozo swamp (Soria).

Movements and migrations: Migratory species that travels long distances, and that travels south in summer and fall and returns in spring. During migration, it is abundant in the peninsula and Atlantic coasts. The Spanish populations spend the winter on the Atlantic coasts of Africa, especially in Ghana and Mauritania. The presence of wintering specimens in our territory is rare, but common on the coasts in the southwest.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated average population of 7000 breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: