Wildlife of the World
Puzzle 62 · Polar and Subpolar Worlds · Page 93 in print
Arctic Tern
Arctic terns breed in the far north and travel to Antarctic waters for the southern summer; tracked birds have covered tens of thousands of kilometres on this annual journey between the poles.
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Arctic terns fly above icy water in Iceland.
Species reference for Arctic Tern. The photograph does not necessarily show the population or place named in the puzzle.
(c) Brian Gratwicke, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original recordImage changes
Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.
An Arctic tern in flight during an observation from India.
Species reference for Arctic Tern. The photograph does not necessarily show the population or place named in the puzzle.
(c) Afsar Nayakkan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original recordImage changes
Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.
The words
Arctic
Arctic terns breed in the Arctic summer.
Daylight
Some Arctic terns see more daylight than any other species.
Diving
Terns dive into the water for fish.
Fledging
When the young first fly.
Chicks fledge after 21–24 days.
Greenland
Greenland is an Arctic tern breeding area represented in studies of the species’ long-distance migration.
Iceland
Iceland is one of the Arctic tern’s northern breeding areas.
Paradisaea
The Arctic tern is Sterna paradisaea.
Plunge
Its plunge into the water after fish.
It hovers, then plunges to catch prey.
Sand Eels
Arctic terns catch sand eels.
Sea Swallow
The Arctic tern's local name is sea swallow.
Seabird
A bird strongly associated with marine and coastal habitats; Arctic terns spend much of their life travelling over water.
Shingle
Arctic terns nest on gravel beaches.
Southern Ocean
Arctic terns migrate to the Southern Ocean.
Sterna
The Arctic tern is Sterna paradisaea.
Two Summers
Terns go from the Arctic summer to Antarctica for a second summer.
Sources
- Arctic Tern (source capture)Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
- Arctic Tern (source capture)British Trust for Ornithology
- Arctic Tern (source capture)National Audubon Society
- Arctic Tern (source capture)Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI) record of Egevang et al. 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Arctic Tern (source capture)Royal Society for the Protection of Birds