In New York, roseate terns are always found nesting with common terns. The nest may be only a depression in sand, shell or gravel, and may be lined with bits of grass and other debris. It is usually placed in dense grass clumps, or even under boulders or rip-rap. Both adults incubate the eggs for about 23 days, and the young fledge in 22- 29 days. One brood per season is typical, although two broods are sometimes produced.
Migration begins in late summer.
One banded individual from Great Gull Island, New York was 9 years old when recovered. A marine coastal species, the roseate tern breeds along the coasts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans on salt marsh islands and beaches with sparse vegetation. In eastern North America, it breeds from the Canadian Maritime Provinces south to Long Island, although formerly the breeding range extended to Virginia. In New York, this species breeds only at a few Long Island colonies. The largest colony, more than 1,000 pairs, is located at Great Gull Island off eastern Long Island.