The little tern is the UK’s smallest tern. It is short-tailed and has a fast flight. Its bill is a distinctive yellow with a black tip. It is noisy at its breeding colony where courtship starts with an aerial display involving the male calling and carrying a fish to attract a mate, which chases him up high before he descends, gliding with wings in a ‘V’.
Little tern are silvery-grey above and white below, with a black cap, black eyestripe, and a white forehead. It has a short tail, tiny, yellowy-orange legs, and yellow bill with a black tip.
Little tern are summer visitors to gravelly beaches around the coast.
The little tern is amber listed in the UK. (Opens in a new window)
During their courtship, male little terns put on impressive aerial displays that involve carrying fish to attract mates. The females will chase them high up into the sky; the males then descending at a glide with their wings forming a ‘V’ shape.
