BC: The End
FC: Least Tern | By: Maddie Hulse
1: Description | The Least Tern is about 8 to 9 inches tall. They have a black "crown" on their head, a snowy whiter underside and forehead, grayish back and wings, orange legs, and a yellow bill with a black tip.
2: Range | Interior least terns are located in isolated areas along the Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Red, and Rio Grande rivers.
3: Habitat | From late April to August Least Terns use barren to barely vegetated sandbars along rivers, sand and gravel pits, or lakes.
4: Breeding | Least Terns nest in a shallow hole scraped in an open sandy area, gravelly patch, or exposed flat. They nest in small colonies. The chicks leave the nest only a few days after hatching, but the adults continue to care for them.
5: Food | Least Terns eat small fish. To catch them they hover over and dive into standing or flowing water.
6: Why is the Least Tern endangered? | Habitat Loss: Dams, reservoirs, and other changes to river systems have eliminated most least tern habitat. The wide channels dotted with sandbars that are preferred by least terns have been replaced by narrow forested river corridors.
7: Nest Disturbance: Activities on rivers and sandbars disturb the nesting terns, causing them to abandon their nests.