Why is it called a whiskered tern?

What does a buoyant tern look like?

Small buoyant tern. Breeding adult has distinctive dark smoky gray body and contrasting white cheeks (can look like broad white Skip to content Cornell Lab sapsucker logo Cornell Lab of Ornithology logo eBird Menu Menu Home Submit Explore My eBird Science About News Help Donate Create account Sign in Language Čeština Deutsch English

How did the marsh tern get its name?

This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in size and minor plumage details. The scientific name arises from the fact that this, the largest marsh tern, show similarities in appearance to both the white Sterna terns and to Black Tern.

Where can I find whiskered terns?

Whiskered Terns are migratory and nomadic. In Australia generally, they are found on the coast and the interior, but are only vagrant in Tasmania. Breeding is mainly south of 25° S, being most numerous in the south-east interior. They are widely distributed throughout the mainland when not breeding.

What does a medium sized tern look like?

Medium-sized tern with deeply forked tail. Outer primaries form a dark wedge on the upper side of the wingtips. Wings are slender, swept back, and narrow at the base. Occurs along shorelines, barrier islands, and estuaries, as well as on large inland lakes.

What does a whiskered tern look like?

The Whiskered Tern is a small, tubby marsh tern with a slightly forked tail. The Whiskered Tern in breeding plumage has a black crown and white cheeks and sides of neck.

What does a Aleutian tern look like?

Aleutian Tern: A medium tern, with white forehead, black cap, eyeline, bill, and legs. Upperparts and underparts are gray with white rump and tail. Undertail coverts, cheeks, and area below cap are white. Juvenile is buff and brown on top and flanks, with pale gray underparts.

How can you tell a tern from its underparts?

Black head and underparts make this graceful tern easy to identify in breeding plumage. Note also the dark gray back and wings—darker than almost all other terns and distinctive in all plumages. Small tern with dark gray wings.

What does a molting bird look like?

When molting, can show a messy, mottled pattern of black and white. Juveniles have dark gray-brown back and wings with faint paler bars. Head and underparts are white with black skullcap and ear mark. Small tern with dark gray wings. Molting birds can be a mixture of black and white on the head and underparts. Small tern with shallow fork in tail.

What do Aleutian terns look like?

Aleutian Terns are medium-sized terns. During the breeding season they have a black cap that also covers the entire nape of the neck, connecting to the grey mantle and wings. The black eyes are set into a black eye stripe.

Where do Aleutian terns go in winter?

Photo by Liam Murphy Aleutian Terns breed in west and southern Alaska, on the Aleutian Islands and in parts of far-eastern Siberia (including the Kamchatka Peninsula). They’re widely considered to be the most poorly understood of the North American terns because no one really seems to know where the birds go in winter.

Are there Aleutian terns at Farquhar?

At the time of writing (April 2018) there are at least four Aleutian Terns still present at Farquhar Inlet, including two birds in full breeding plumage. One would like to think that these birds would not have gone unnoticed, lending weight to the new arrival theory.

Do different species of birds have different molting patterns?

Different species have different molting patterns, as we can see with penguins and goldfinches, the body feather molt is not symmetrical (splotchy appearance). Anna’s hummingbird demonstrating symmetrical wing feather replacements for balance in flight. (Photo by Collins Cochran)

Are terns in the Charadriiformes?

The bird order Charadriiformes contains 18 coastal seabird and wader families. Within the order, the terns form a lineage with the gulls, and, less closely, with the skimmers, skuas, and auks.

Where do Arctic terns breed?

They breed on the coasts and tundra of Arctic and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America, then follow the sun and fair weather on their yearly journey to the Antarctic Circle—a trip that takes a couple of months. Arctic terns migrate in groups known as colonies.

Where do Aleutian terns live in Alaska?

The Aleutian tern breeds in wide ranging coastal colonies only in Alaska (from the Kasegaluk Lagoon along the northwest coast to Glacier Bay) and eastern Siberia. The largest colony (an estimated 1/3 of the population in Alaska) is believed to nest on the Yakutat Forelands in the Gulf of Alaska.

What is the difference between the Aleutian tern and Arctic tern?

The Aleutian tern ( Onychoprion aleutica) frequently associates with the Arctic tern, which it closely resembles. While both species sport a black cap, the Aleutian tern may be distinguished by its white forehead (although juvenile Arctic terns also have white foreheads).

Can You easily pick out the Aleutians at Farquhar Inlet?

Although many birders have claimed that they could “easily pick out the Aleutians” at Farquhar Inlet, some very experienced observers have also noted that they could just as easily have gone undetected. Perhaps many birders found it simple because they knew there was a different tern there to look out for?

How big do Aleutian tern birds get?

The Aleutian tern is medium-sized tern (32–39 cm (13–15 in) long), with a 75–80 cm (30–31 in) wingspan, a short pointed bill and a long, deeply forked tail. It weighs 84–140 g (2.9–5.0 oz). Breeding adult and juvenile are the only plumages likely to be encountered in North America.

What is an Aleutian tern?

The Aleutian tern ( Onychoprion aleutica) is a migratory bird living in the subarctic region of the globe most of the year. It is frequently associated with the Arctic tern, which it closely resembles.

What does a juvenile common tern look like?

Juvenile Common Terns have a stronger shoulder or carpal bar than juvenile Arctic Terns. They also tend to have more brown on the back than juvenile Arctic Terns.

What are some cool facts about terns?

Cool Facts Arctic Terns migrate from pole to pole; birds in North America travel around 25,000 miles each year. Downy Arctic Tern hatchlings come in two colors: gray or brown. And chicks from the same nest aren’t always the same color.

What do Arctic terns do?

Arctic Terns are social birds, foraging in groups and nesting on the ground in colonies. They often rest on ice and fly on graceful and buoyant wings.