It's migration season here at Bird Facts, and so in this episode, Kristen tells Maeve about Forster's Tern, a species of tern that was migrating through where Kristen was recently visiting in Wisconsin. This is a small, attractive bird known for its neat fish-diving habits, and for nesting in saltwater, freshwater, and brackish marshes. They winter along various places (mostly but not exclusively coastline), migrate through all of the United States other than the Northeast, and summer in marshes in the Great Plains and Great Lakes areas.

In our next episode, Kristen will tell Maeve about all the research she did for her final paper on the use of birds as tropes in horror films for her class Birds, Religion, and Mythology. Birds appear in many ways in horror films, so this episode will have a follow up bonus episode with a special guest. You will not want to miss it!

Research for today’s episode came from the following sources: 

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Forsters_Tern/overview

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/forsters-tern#:~:text=Forster's%20Tern%20looks%20so%20much,on%20top%20of%20muskrat%20houses.

Migration map:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Forsters_Tern/maps-range

Additional Resources:

Courtship displays:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qry1CXgPV4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM92g1FJ0Zg

Videos of terns diving:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oSYcRHtu7Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cxpeEJOyh8

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Thanks for listening, and happy birding!