08 October 2025

Terns

 Charadriiformes - Laridae - Chlidonias hybrida (Camar Bermisai)


Small buoyant tern. Breeding adult has distinctive dark smoky gray body and contrasting white cheeks (can look like broad white "whiskers" in flight) underneath a black cap. Nonbreeding plumage pale silvery gray overall with a faded shadow of the cap; juvenile has dark-checkered back. Note rather stout bill (albeit thinner than Gull-billed Tern) and square tail; compare to Common, Roseate, and Arctic Terns. Feeds by picking from surface, not splash-diving like typical terns. Common around wetlands, lakes, and rivers.
(eBird)


Whiskered tern (l) Gull-billed tern (r)



Charadriiformes - Laridae - Gelochelidon nilotica (Camar Tiram) 

Medium-sized tern with thick black bill. Very pale overall with black cap in breeding plumage. Legs black. Nonbreeding plumage shows dark cheek patch. Found in marshier habitats than most other terns, in the Americas usually near the coast but not on the ocean (though also occasionally seen on beaches and mudflats); in Europe and Asia can also be found in wetlands well away from the coast. Rarely seen in flocks with other terns; often single or in pairs. Feeds on invertebrates and crabs in mud and marshes; often patrols the edges of ponds but does not grab fish from the water like other terns.
(eBird)



Gull-billed terns

Gull-billed terns and Whiskered terns


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