from southeast Europe to Central Asia and the Russian Far East. They usually nest either on floating vegetation in a marsh or on the ground very close to water, laying 2-4 eggs in a nest built of small reed stems and other vegetation. In winter, they migrate to Africa, southern Asia and Australia. It is a scarce vagrant in North America, mainly on the Atlantic coast, but a few records on the Pacific coast and inland in the Great Lakes area. Behaviour Like the other "marsh" terns (Chlidonias), and unlike the "white" (Sterna) terns, these birds do not dive for fish, but fly slowly over the water to surface-pick items and catch insects in flight. They mainly eat insects and small fish. In flight, the wing-beats are shallow and leisurely. The white-winged tern is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Gallery Notes External links Whitewinged Tern, Witvlerkmeerswael. The Atlas of Southern African Birds white-winged tern Birds of Eurasia Birds of Central Asia Birds of Manchuria Birds of Africa white-winged tern Taxa named by Coenraad Jacob Temminck