Editing Roseate tern (section)

==Description==
[[File:2020-07-18 Sterna dougallii, St Marys Island, Northumberland 19.jpg|thumb|left|Juvenile ''S. d. dougallii'' showing its scaly mantle. Northumberland, UK.]]
[[File:Sterna dougallii bangsi, Tanjung Pasir, Banten, Indonesia 1.jpg|thumb|''S. d. bangsi'' often has an all-red bill. Indonesia.]]
This is a small-medium tern, {{convert|33|-|36|cm|in|abbr=on}} long with a {{convert|67|-|76|cm|in|abbr=on}} wingspan, which can be confused with the [[common tern]], Arctic tern, and the larger, but similarly plumaged, [[Sandwich tern]]. The thin sharp bill is black, with a red base which develops through the breeding season, and is more extensive (to fully red) in the tropical and southern hemisphere subspecies. It is shorter-winged and has faster wing beats than common or Arctic tern. The upper wings are pale grey and its under parts white, and this tern looks very pale in flight, like a small Sandwich tern, although the outermost primary flight feathers darken during the summer. The adults have very long, flexible tail streamers and orange-red legs. In summer, the underparts of adults take on the pinkish tinge which gives this bird its name.

In winter, the forehead becomes white and the bill black. Juvenile roseate terns have a scaly appearance like juvenile Sandwich Terns, but a fuller black cap than that species.