Inca Tern
NAME:
Inca Tern
ZOO NAME:
Sushi, Wasabe, & Sashimi
CLASS:
Aves
GENUS:
Larosterna
SPECIES:
L. inca
LENGTH:
16″ tall
LIFESPAN:
20 yrs.
DIET:
Fish, Shrimp, Small Marine Animals
PREDATORS:
Birds, Mammals
RANGE
South America from Ecuador to Chile.
HABITAT
Highly inaccessible rocks & space near the shoreline.
CHARACTERISTICS
Inca Terns live and breed in noisy colonies. They are graceful fliers, but not strong swimmers. Terns have a pointed bill for “stabbing” at prey in the water.
REPRODUCTION
Females lay a clutch of 1-3 eggs. These chicks hatch after a 3-4 week incubation in a nest on islands of guano (mounds of droppings rising above the water).
ANIMAL FUN FACT!
Inca Terns have been observed diving across the open mouths of killer whales to steal food from the orcas.