Talk:Arctic Tern

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Featured article star Arctic Tern is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do.
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||||action1oldid=73497967 |||||action2oldid=74414056 |||||action3oldid=79488782 || ||| > This bird has a circumpolar distribution "Circumpolar" is unclear, and the link is to a disambiguation page (which contains links to Artic Circle and North Pole). Does this strictly mean around the North Pole, or that the birds' habitat stretches to both North and South Poles, as described in the sentence that follows? If so, is "circumpolar" the right word to use? Hcetsj 16:56, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

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[edit] Weight

The reported weight of 3 to 4.5 oz is contrary to numerous other sources of a weight a bit less than two pounds. I'm not bird expert, but it truly seems this one is incorrect. A 15" X 30" bird is goint to weigh 4 oz -- less than a cell phone?

Could this be a typo?

Denpratt 04:06, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Birds are very light, hollow bones, no teeth, lots of feathers. The RSPB and WWF amongst others go with weights in the range 3.5-4.5 oz/95-120 g jimfbleak 06:35, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

This is true, however, the difference isn't that great compared to most land vertebrates. One New Scientist article estimating the weight of the dodo mentioned that birds' body density ranges between 730–940 kg/m³, whereas humans are slightly over 1,000 kg/m³. But there is another reason why people tend to be surprised by the light weight of birds: the misinterpretation of the outer dimensions. Note that a bird's length is measured from beak tip to tail tip, and in the case of the Arctic Tern the tail makes 7–11.5 cm out of the total 33–39 cm, or about 21–29 %. Also, this is proportionally a very long-winged species, further increasing the difference of its actual body size compared to the outer frame. I suppose that in order get an accurate idea of a bird's body size, you need to pluck its feathers. No tern weighs two pounds, not even the largest one; I suggest not paying attention to sources claiming otherwise. The All About Birds website has (mostly) accurate information on the subject. --Anshelm '77 11:36, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

Note on wingspan There's a gross misconversion in the article: 76–85 cm is not 26–30 in (actually 30–33½). However, Birds of Europe (Mullarney, Svensson & Zetterström 2000) – that should be considered a superior source concerning the measurements of Western Palearctic birds – give this species 66–77 cm (26–30¼ in), so it is actually the Imperial figure that seems to be the correct one. --Anshelm '77 11:36, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] colour

> white forehead, a black-nape and crown (streaked white) , and white cheeks

But I cannt see any "white forehead" or "white streak". Are these true? Around and above the eyes of the head just seems black... --marsian 01:10, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] circumpolar

What is circumpolar supposed to be linking to in the lead? It's just a dis-bag page at the moment. SGGH speak! 18:49, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] As soon as this became the featured article, the vandalism started.

Clearly, things have taken a tern for the worse.


Yes, I'll leave now.


Please stop throwing things at me; I'm going. HalfShadow 23:42, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

Can't resist commenting. LOL Corvus coronoides ContributionsMGo Blue 23:52, 1 May 2007 (UTC)