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Roseate Tern
Sterna dougallii
Order
CHARADRIIFORMES
– Family
LARIDAE
Authors: Gochfeld, Michael, Joanna Burger, and Ian C. Nisbet

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Measurements

Linear

See Appendix 3 . Within the Bird I. sample, males significantly longer than females in all measurements, but ranges overlapped extensively. Caribbean birds slightly smaller and lighter than Northeastern birds.

Mass

Unsexed adults: Mean 107.6 g (range 92–125, n = 46) at Great Gull I., NY, in 1968 (LeCroy and Collins 1972); 112.3 g ± 5.8 SE (range 97–128, n = 160) at Cedar Beach, NY, in 1988; 114 g ± 5.7 SE (range 97–128, n = 132) at Cedar Beach in 1989; 112.5 g (range 88–139, n = 1,792) at Bird I., MA, in 1987–1995; 100.2 g ± 7.7 SE (range 90–113, n = 10) at Culebra, Puerto Rico. At Parguera, Puerto Rico, mean mass varied from 102 to 111 g depending on year (D. Shealer unpubl.). Food availability and timing of sampling influence weights.