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Whiskered Tern ? South India , December 2012 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Biju.P.B
- Start date
Cristian Mihai
Cristian Mihai
In my humble opinion this is not a Whiskered Tern. Unfortunately, I'm not able to ID it.
Why would this not be Whiskered Tern? It's the commonest tern wintering in southern India according to my India books. It's the right colour for winter plumage - black bill with reddish legs and a grey/black cap. (Little has yellow legs and Saunder's brown, I think). It's small (23-29 cm compared with 22-28 for Little a/c Mark Brazil's book) and has a short tail.
White-winged Tern would also be a possibility according to the books, but I think this has a bigger black 'blob' behind the eye, and I think the legs don't show red like this.
The legs are wrong for Gull-billed, and it would look much chunkier, I think.
Some Whiskered Terns passed through my patch in central Japan last 1st October presumably blown off course by a major typhoon. They stayed on our pond for about ten days. (Not many pass through Japan, and then normally along the west coast, a long way away: scarce in Autumn, rare in Spring a/c Brazil; this was the first time for me to see them.)
The poster's bird seems to have a slightly larger bill, and a little less colour in the wings than the birds I saw, but but I don't see why it wouldn't be in the range of variation.
Then last weekend, on 31st March, we found that three of them had come to visit us on their way back home again! Exactly six months later.
White-winged Tern would also be a possibility according to the books, but I think this has a bigger black 'blob' behind the eye, and I think the legs don't show red like this.
The legs are wrong for Gull-billed, and it would look much chunkier, I think.
Some Whiskered Terns passed through my patch in central Japan last 1st October presumably blown off course by a major typhoon. They stayed on our pond for about ten days. (Not many pass through Japan, and then normally along the west coast, a long way away: scarce in Autumn, rare in Spring a/c Brazil; this was the first time for me to see them.)
The poster's bird seems to have a slightly larger bill, and a little less colour in the wings than the birds I saw, but but I don't see why it wouldn't be in the range of variation.
Then last weekend, on 31st March, we found that three of them had come to visit us on their way back home again! Exactly six months later.
The legs appear yellowish to me, not reddish. And the bill looks relatively too long & wrong shape for Whiskered Tern. My amateur guess would be Saunders's or Little Tern?
Here's an article on separating the two: http://www.kolkatabirds.com/ternid.htm
Here's an article on separating the two: http://www.kolkatabirds.com/ternid.htm
chris butterworth
aka The Person Named Above
The head pattern looks right for Whiskered and discounting the apparent 'long' bill (I think this is due to the forehead feathers being strongly in moult) the bills the right shape. The bird also has a grey rump which would be right for Whiskered as would the underwing pattern. The pattern on the upper primaries is wrong though with the dark wedge on the leading edge. Whiskered has a dark trailing edge from the wing tip to halfway along the primaries with a 'peak' at the inner end. The fact that the bird seems to be growing new secondaries, and they are showing a juv / 1st w pattern is strange. Are there anymore photos, preferably in flight?
Chris
Chris
Tib78
Well-known member
Sorry but this is definitely no Whiskered tern. And definitely Little or Saunder's.
Whiskered has quite a powerful and stubby bill, almost approaching Gull-billed tern sometimes. Here, the bill is very long and slender. The feathering seems quite close to the nostril therefore moult can't account for the bill length (btw the only obvious sign of moult I can detect is on the inner primaries).
The legs are very thin too.
Perhaps the easiest way to rule out the Chlidonias terns is the wings shape: they are way too narrow and pointed!
Whiskered has quite a powerful and stubby bill, almost approaching Gull-billed tern sometimes. Here, the bill is very long and slender. The feathering seems quite close to the nostril therefore moult can't account for the bill length (btw the only obvious sign of moult I can detect is on the inner primaries).
The legs are very thin too.
Perhaps the easiest way to rule out the Chlidonias terns is the wings shape: they are way too narrow and pointed!
lou salomon
the birdonist
2cy little/saunders tern. don't know how to ditinguish them in this plumage. primaries are not well visible.
chris butterworth
aka The Person Named Above
Thanks. Just shows what looking too hard at a single photo can do. The second photo shows the jizz perfectly. The birds definitely Saunders / Little and by the, just showing, grey on the centre of the uppertail coverts it's more than likely Saunders.
Chris
Chris
