The black tern has a large territory. It inhabits Alaska, Manitoba and Ontario provinces. In the United States it lives in California, Colorado, Missouri and Tennessee, the seaside of the lakes in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. The black tern spends its winters in parts of the South American countries like Peru and Chile and bird watchers see them in abundance on the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast shores of North America during its south and north migrations. Other than during their migrations the Black Tern inhabits the inner parts of the country. In the summer months the Black Tern prefers habitats of inland bogs and wetland marshes with somewhat thick cattails or other marsh weeds and pools of open water that have little depth.
The black tern at adulthood is about ten inches long and their wings are long and pointed and span about two feet when flying. It takes about two years for a black tern to reach maturity and then weighs about 2 1/4 pounds. The birds are a dusty chalk color with small dark splotches near their eyes. The tail is little and delicately indented. They have a pointed and thin bill and it is not as long as its head. The black tern's feet are partially webbed and both the males and females have similar plumage. In the summer months their wings and tail become dark blue grey, with inky color on the tips of their wings. The black tern's head and belly are black. The part below their tail is white. Their bill is black and their legs are crimson in color.
At birth the young black terns are able to run about and covered with down. Their down is long and soft. The color of the top parts of their body, craw, and the lower jaw parts is buff, dappled with black. Their chest is dusty white and their stomach is tawny in color. The front of their head, the lower part of the bill and a strip around their eyes is white. The young birds' legs are dark salmon in color.
The Black Tern produces offspring across Canada. They do not frequent the northern sections of the provinces as breeding grounds. The black terns mate and breed in the northern and middle sections of the United States too. They prefer to nest in wetlands not to far from open water. In the very cold and wintry months of their territory they fly south into Central and South America. The Black Tern is a sometime summer inhabitant of the Great Lakes Region and as the other birds fly south for the winter.
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