Tern make up the clutch. Most species feed on fish caught by diving from flight, but the marsh terns are insect-eaters, and some large terns will supplement their diet with small land vertebrates. Many terns are long-distance migrants, and the Arctic tern may see more daylight in a year than any other animal. Terns are long-lived birds and are relatively free from natural predators and parasites; most species are declining in numbers due directly or indirectly to human activities, including habitat loss, pollution, disturbance, and predation by introduced mammals. The Chinese crested tern is in a critical situation and three other
Little tern Little tern The little tern ("Sternula albifrons") is a seabird of the family Sternidae. It was formerly placed into the genus "Sterna", which now is restricted to the large white terns. The genus name is a diminutive of "Sterna", "tern". The specific "albifrons" is from Latin "albus", "white", and "frons", "forehead". The former North American ("S. a. antillarum") and Red Sea "S. a. saundersi" subspecies are now considered to be separate species, the least tern ("Sternula antillarum") and Saunders's tern ("Sternula saundersi"). This bird breeds on the coasts and inland waterways of temperate and tropical Europe and Asia. It is