GULLS and Allies of South America
Gulls, terns, skimmers, skuas, puffins, and their allies belong to the order Charadriiformes and suborder Lari. In general they take food from the sea. Charadriiformes also contains the sandpipers, plovers and their allies. They are in suborder Charadrii and often feed along the shoreline. It is a matter of debate whether the coursers and pratincoles belong with the gulls or with the sandpipers.
Terns
Order Charadriiformes Suborder Lari Family Sternidae
Terns are most closely related to the gulls, They have a worldwide distribution. Many terns breeding in temperate zones are long-distance migrants. They are, in general, medium to large birds (23-53 cm), typically with gray or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. They have longish bills and webbed feet. They are lighter bodied and more streamlined than gulls, and look elegant in flight with long tails and long narrow wings. They make harsh, single-note calls. Most terns hunt fish by diving, often hovering first. Terns only glide infrequently. Apart from bathing, they only rarely swim, despite having webbed feet. Most terns nest in large, densely packed colonies. Depending on the species and habitat, the nests may consist of unlined scrapes in the ground, or of flimsy collections of sticks on trees or floating vegetation. [abstracted from Wikipedia]
Genus Chlidonias
Tern, Black Chlidonias niger Found: The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Similar to: White-winged Tern.
4) Brian Desrosiers - Ontario 5, 6) Eric Begin 7) Alan D Wilson - Oregon
1) Juvenile 2) Nonbreeding 3) Breeding eclipse 4) Breeding pair 5) Breeding female 6, 7) Breeding male
Genus Gelochelidon - 1 species
Tern, Gull-billed Gelochelidon nilotica Found: The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Photographed by: 1) J M Garg - Chhilka, Orissa, India 2, 5) Sergey Yeliseev - Russia 3) Cláudio Timm - Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
4) Vincent P Lucas 6) Glen Fergus - Brisbane, Australia 7) Eric Kershner, USFWS - California
1, 2, 3) Nonbreeding 4, 5) Transition 6, 7) Breeding
Genus Hydroprogne - 1 species
Tern, Caspian Hydroprogne caspia also Sterna caspia Found: The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia
Similar to: Royal Tern. Caspian Tern has dark red bill, Royal tern has orange-red bill. Nonbreeding Caspian has dark forehead which is streaked with white, nonbreeding Royal has white forehead.
4, 5, 7) Dick - Half Moon Bay, California 6, 8) Dick - Half Moon Bay
1) Juvenile 2, 3) Nonbreeding 4 - 8) Breeding
Genus Larosterna - 1 species
Tern, Inca Larosterna inca Found: South America
Photographed by: 1, 2, 3) Dick Daniels - Jacksonville Zoo 4) Ed Gaillard
5) Brian Gratwicke 6) Charlie Westerinen - Peru
Genus Onychoprion
Tern, Bridled Onychoprion anaethetus Found: The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia
Similar to: Sooty Tern. The Bridled Tern back is lighter in color than the Sooty Tern's.
4) Tony Brown 5) Seabamirum - off east coast of USA
5) Nonbreeding adult on flotsam
Tern, Sooty Onychoprion fuscata Found: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Similar to: Bridled Tern. The Bridled Tern back is lighter in color than the Sooty Tern's.
1) Adult 3, 4) Juvenile
Genus Phaetusa - 1 species
Tern, Large-billed Phaetusa simplex Found: South America
Photographed by: 1, 2) Cláudio Timm - the Amazon, Brazil
2) Juvenile
Genus Sterna
Tern, Antarctic Sterna vittata Found: southern oceans including South America, Africa
Photographed by: Charlie Westerinen on the Antarctic ice
Tern, Arctic Sterna paradisaea Found: The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Similar to: Common Tern. Juvenile and nonbreeding Arctic Tern have white forehead. black legs, black bill. Breeding adults have black cap, red legs, red bill. Legs are shorter than Common Tern.
5) Chick
Tern, Common Sterna hirundo Found: The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Similar to: Arctic Tern. Juvenile and nonbreeding Common Tern have dark carpal bar, white forehead. black legs, black bill (young juvenile also has orange on bill). Breeding adults have black cap, orange-red legs, orange-red bill with dark tip. Legs are longer than Arctic Tern, more black on wings.
Similar to Forster's Tern. Nonbreeding Forster's Tern has an eye mask versus the partial hood of the nonbreeding Common Tern. Differntiation between breeding birds is more difficult. Forster's tern has a larger bill.
Similar to Forster's Tern. Nonbreeding Forster's Tern has an eye mask versus the partial hood of the nonbreeding Common Tern. Differntiation between breeding birds is more difficult. Forster's tern has a larger bill.
5, 8) Dick - Assateague Island in Virginia 6, 7) Dick - Assateague Island
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1) Young juvenile 2) Juvenile 3) Nonbreeding 4 - 8) Breeding
Tern, Forster's Sterna forsteri Found: The Americas, Europe (rare)
Similar to Common Tern. Nonbreeding Forster's Tern has an eye mask versus the partial hood of the nonbreeding Common Tern. Differntiation between breeding birds is more difficult. Forster's tern has a larger bill.
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Black hood in breeding season
Tern, Roseate Sterna dougallii found: The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Long thin bill, usually black, but may be just black tipped (especially in warmer climates). The tail is deeply forked, projects further than wingtips, and the wings are mostly white. The breast is pinkish during breeding season.
4) Florida Fish and Wildlife 5) Aviceda - Australia 6) Fen Oswin
2) Roseate Tern chasing Common Tern 3) Tail projects beyond wingtips.
Tern, Snowy-crowned Sterna trudeaui Found: South America
Photographed by: 1, 2, 3) Cláudio Timm - Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Tern, South American Sterna hirundinacea Found: South America
Photographed by: 1) Charlie Westerinen - Ushuaia, Argentina 2) Chris Pearson - the Falklands
Genus Sternula
Tern, Least Sternula antillarum Found: The Americas
Photographed by: 1) Bob Devlin - New Jersey 2) Ken Schneider - Florida 3) Dick Daniels - North Carolina 3, 4) Dick - North Carolina
1) Juvenile 2) Nonbreeding 3, 4) Breeding plumage
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) Mating ritual: male courts female by bringing a shrimp to demonstrate he is a good provider.
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She allows them to mate, he passes the shrimp to her while she gets ready to fly off.
Tern, Yellow-billed Sternula superciliaris Found: South America
Photographed by: Cláudio Timm - Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Genus Thalasseus
The Crested Terns
Tern, Elegant Thalasseus elegans Found: The Americas, Europe, Africa
Similar to: Royal Tern. Elegant Tern longer and drooping bill, also has a longer crest. Nonbreeding Elegant Tern has a smaller white spot on the forehead.
5) Charlie Westerinen - Lima, Peru 6) Mike Baird - California 7) George Lamson - California 8) Regular Daddy - California
1) Juvenile 2) First year 3 - 6) Nonbreeding 7, 8) Breeding
Tern, Royal Thalasseus maximus Found: The Americas, Europe, Africa
Similar to: Caspian Tern. Caspian Tern has dark red bill, Royal tern has orange-red bill. Nonbreeding Caspian has dark forehead which is streaked with white, nonbreeding Royal has white forehead.
Similar to: Elegant Tern. Elegant Tern longer and drooping bill, also has a longer crest. Nonbreeding Elegant Tern has a smaller white spot on the forehead.
Similar to: Elegant Tern. Elegant Tern longer and drooping bill, also has a longer crest. Nonbreeding Elegant Tern has a smaller white spot on the forehead.
5) Dick - Georgia 6) Dick - North Carolina 8) Dick - Puerto Rico
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Tern, Sandwich also Cabot's Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis acuflavida also Thalasseus acuflavida Found: The Americas
Photgraphed by: 1, 2, 5) Dick Daniels - North Carolina 3) Charlie Westerinen - Lima, Peru
4, 6) Dick Daniels - North Carolina 7) Dick - Venice. Florida
1 - 3) Breeding
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