How big is a Forster’s tern?

What do Forster’s terns look like?

The upper wings of Forster’s Terns, on the other hand, are two-toned or three-toned, with the distal half of the wing (furthest from the body) being distinctly whiter than the half that is closest to the body, which is gray. There is also a smaller patch of black on the outermost upper wing tips.

What is the difference between a black tern and a Black Gull?

Larger than a Black Tern, smaller than a Bonaparte’s Gull. Breeding adults are gray above and white below, with a black cap and orange bill with black tip. The wingtips are silvery gray and the legs are orange. Nonbreeding adults are ghostly pale overall, with a dark bill, white crown, and thick blackish eye patch.

What kind of bird is a whiskered tern?

The whiskered tern is an insect-eating marsh tern. Genus Chlidonias — marsh terns Black tern (Chlidonias niger) White-winged tern (or white-winged black tern C. leucopterus) Whiskered tern (C.

What is the difference between a herring and black backed gull?

Its legs are short and black. Slightly smaller than a herring gull, the lesser black-backed gull has a dark grey to black back and wings, yellow bill and yellow legs. A small, dainty gull.

What is the genus and species name for a swallow-like bird?

The genus name is from Ancient Greek khelidonios, “swallow-like”, from khelidon, ” swallow “. The specific hybridus is Latin for hybrid; Pallas thought it might be a hybrid of white-winged black tern and common tern, writing ” Sterna fissipes [ Chlidonias leucopterus] et Hirundine [ Sterna hirundo] natam ”.

What is the scientific name for a swallow tern?

The whiskered tern (Chlidonias hybrida) is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khelidonios, “swallow-like”, from khelidon, “swallow”.

Are lesser and great black-backed gulls the same thing?

On paper Lesser and Great Black-backed Gulls are straightforward to separate but, in reality, many of us struggle-especially as the light conditions can alter their colour and size is not always apparent. Watch our video to tell these two species apart, as well as differentiate them from Herring Gull.

What is the difference between herring gull and great black-backed gulls?

Adult Herring Gulls have much paler upperparts than Great Black-backed Gulls. Nonbreeding adult Herring Gulls can be separated from Great Black-backed gulls by their smaller size and paler gray upperparts. Second winter Herring Gulls are more heavily streaked on the neck, head, and breast than second or first winter Great Black-backed Gulls.

What is the difference between juvenile and adult lesser black-backed gulls?

Adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls are smaller than Great Black-backed Gulls with a paler gray back and wings. They also have yellowish legs, whereas Great Black-backed Gulls have pink legs. Juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls can be separated from juvenile Great Black-backed Gulls by the smudges around their eye.

What does a Juvenile whiskered tern look like?

Juvenile whiskered terns have a ginger scaly back, and otherwise look much like winter adults. The first winter plumage is intermediate between juvenile and adult winter, with patchy ginger on the back. The whiskered tern eats small fish, amphibians, insects and crustaceans.

What does a Caspian tern bird look like?

In breeding plumage, the Caspian Tern sports a solid black cap, which recedes in the non-breeding season, resulting in a spray of white at the face mixing with black.

What is another name for a sea swallow bird?

Other names: tara, kahawai bird, sea-swallow, swallowtail, black-billed tern, whitefronted tern, white fronted tern White-fronted tern. Adult. Pahi, August 2012. Image © Thomas Musson by Thomas Musson [email protected]

What is the scientific name for pigeons?

Columbidae is the scientific name for birds commonly called pigeons or doves. There are over 310 species of pigeons divided into 42 genera. The domestic pigeon ( Columba livia domestica) is one of the first types of bird that was ever domesticated.

What are the two subfamilies of the Swallow?

This family comprises two subfamilies: Pseudochelidoninae (the river martins of the genus Pseudochelidon) and Hirundininae (all other swallows, martins and saw-wings).

What is a sea-swallow?

These delightful silvery-grey and white birds have long tails which have earned them the nickname ‘sea-swallow’. They have a buoyant, graceful flight and frequently hover over water before plunging down for a fish. They are often noisy in company and breed in colonies. The common tern is the tern species most likely to be found inland.

What is the scientific name of tern?

The common tern was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae under its current scientific name, Sterna hirundo. The word “stearn” was used in Old English and a similar word was used by the Frisians for tern.

Why is a tern called a sea swallow?

The common tern’s long tail ‘streamers’ (feathers extending past the main tail) have earned it the nickname ‘Sea-swallow’. The Wildlife Trusts manage many wetland and coastal nature reserves for the benefit of the wildlife they support.

What is the difference between North American and Eurasian gulls?

The North American population, common along the Pacific coast, is now known as Short-billed Gull. Eurasian populations are now classified as a separate species, Common Gull, and birds from these populations reach North America as rare but regular visitors.

What is the scientific name for a black-backed gull?

The lesser black-backed gull was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae, and it still bears its original name of Larus fuscus. The scientific name is from Latin. Larus appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird, and fuscus meant black or brown.

Where do lesser black backed gulls live?

Lesser black-backed gull. The lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus) is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa.