Gould stated that the illustration depicted 'A bird lifesize in summer plumage, and a young bird of the first autumn, in the state in which numerous examples are frequently to be seen during the months of August and September at Bognor in Sussex, the Isle of Wight, and similar places on the southern coasts.'

DISTRIBUTION: Breeding distribution circumpolar between 83°N and 42°N. Winters in subantarctic and Antarctic waters. Most British Arctic Terns nest in Orkney and Shetland. Much concern has been expressed recently at the dramatic decline in breeding numbers and breeding success in the Shetland colonies, due to the lack of the main food the sandeel, possibly because of man's overfishing