INDEX - World 
BIRDS of THE WORLD

GULLS and Allies of The World

Gulls, terns, skimmers, skuas, puffins, and their allies belong to the order Charadriiformes and suborder Lari. In general they take fish 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]


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Genus Anous

Noddy, Black Anous minutus     Found: North America, Europe, and, tropical and subtropical coastal locations worldwide.
Photographed by: 1, 2, 4) Dick Daniels - Hawaii   3) Dick - Hawaii
The black noddy has a longer and thinner bill than the common noddy.


Noddy, Common also Brown Noddy Anous stolidus   Found: North America, Europe, and warm coastal locations worldwide.
Photographed by: 1) Dick Daniels - Michaelmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef, Australia   2, 3, 4)  Dick - Michaelmas Cay



Genus Chlidonias

Tern, Black Chlidonias niger Found: The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Similar to: White-winged Tern.
Photgraphed by: 1) Maggie Smith  2) Jerry Oldenettel - New Mexico  3)  Tim Lenz - New York
   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



Tern, Whiskered Chlidonias hybridus Found: Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Photgraphed by:  1) Marek Szczepanek 


Tern, White-winged also White-winged Black Tern  Chlidonias leucopterus   Found: North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Similar to: Black Tern.
Photographed by:  1, 2) Frank Vassen - Poland  3) Ziegentom - the valley of Narew, Poland
  4) Andy Li  5) Paulo Philippidis near Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
1, 2, 3, 4) Breeding  5) Nonbreeding




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.
Photographed by: 1) Len Blumin - California  2) Sergey Yelsieev - Russia  3) Dick Daniels - North Carolina
  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, Aleutian  Onychoprion aleuticus  Found: North America (Alaska), Asia
Similar to: Sooty Tern. The Bridled Tern back is lighter in color than the Sooty Tern's.
Photographed by: Bob O'brien


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.
Photographed by: 1) Pete Hill - Australia  2, 6) Aviceda - Australia  3) Helen - Australia
      4) Tony Brown   5)  Seabamirum - off east coast of USA
5) Nonbreeding adult on flotsam



Tern, Grey-backed also Gray-backed Tern  also  Spectacaled Tern   Onychoprion lunata  Found: Hawaii, Australia
Photographed by: 1) Duncan Wright of the US Fish and Wildlife Service  2) Forest and Kim Starr


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.
Photographed by:  1, 3) Dick Daniels - Michaelmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef, Australia  2, 4) Dick - Michaelmas Cay
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.
Photographed by: 1) Hillary Chambers  2) Alistair Rae   3) John Haddington  4) AndreasTrepte  5) Benjamin Dobson
5) Chick



Tern, Black-bellied  Sterna acuticauda   Found: south Asia
Photographed by: 1) Charlie Westerinen - northern Cambodia  2) Vinayak Kulkarni


Tern, Black-naped  Sterna sumatrana  Found: tropical and subtropical ocean areas of Asia, Africa, Australia
Photographed by: Aviceda - Lady Elliot Island, Queensland, Australia


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.
Photographed by: 1) Len Blumin - Connecticut  2) Dick Daniels - Jamaica  3) Muchaxo - Portugal  4) Mr T in DC  - New York
    5, 8) Dick - Assateague Island in Virginia  6, 7) Dick - Assateague Island
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.
Photographed by: 1, 4) Dick Daniels - North Carolina  2, 5, 6) Dick - North Carolina  3) Dick in Georgia
Black hood in breeding season



Tern, River also Indian River Tern  Sterna aurantia  Found: Asia
Photographed by:  1) Kousik Nandy  2, 3) J M Garg - Pocharam lake, Andhra Pradesh, India


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.
Photographed by: 1, 2) Kirk Rogers, USFWS - Maine  3) Hilary Chambers - England
    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


Tern, White-fronted Sterna striata   Found: New Zealand
Photographed by 1) David Burgess - Omana, North Island, New Zealand  2) Aviceda - Miranda, New Zealand  3, 4, 5) Dick Daniels




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.
She allows them to mate, he passes the shrimp to her while she gets ready to fly off.



Tern, Little Sternula albifrons   Found: Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Photographed by: 1) Oystercatcher  2) JJ Harrison 3) Dick Daniels - Cairns, Australia


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.
Photographed by: 1) Maggie Smith   2) Alan Vernon   3) Len Blumin - California  4) Bill Bouton - California
   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, Greater-crested also Crested Tern  also Swift Tern  Thalasseus bergii  Found: Asia, Africa, Australia
Photographed by: 1, 2) Dick Daniels south of Cape Town, South Africa 
    3)) Glen Fergus - Fingal Beach, Australia  4) Noodle Snacks  5) Quarti - Garey Beach, Royal National Park, Sydney
3, 4) Breeding



Tern, Lesser Crested Thalasseus bengalensis   Found: Africa, Australia
Photographed by: 1, 3) Dick Daniels on Michaelmas Cay - the Great Barrier Reef, Australia   2, 4) Dick on Michaelmas Cay Reef, Australia
4) All hail the king!


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.
Photographed by:  1) Dick Daniels - Florida  2) Dick - Jamaica   3, 4, 7) Dick - North Carolina 
    5) Dick - Georgia  6) Dick - North Carolina  8) Dick - Puerto Rico    



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



Tern, Sandwich  Thalasseus sandvicensis sandvicensis    Found: Europe, Africa
Photgraphed by: 1) MPF - Northumberland, UK
1 - 3) Breeding





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