[Dave B Smith]

Following are three photos of two Terns seen in Trinidad earlier this week.
The tail length on the first bird seems to rule out Common (the expected mid sized Tern here). Can anyone clarify the ID on these?
Thanks,

[MichavdB]

Roseate Tern?

[njlarsen]

I would agree with Roseate. Are you sure that Common Tern is the expected one? In the Caribbean north of you (Dominica), I see Roseate tern regularly every summer, but have only seen common tern twice in six years and that was one in October and a small flock in september of a different year.

Roseate reminds me when flying (wing action) more of little/least terns than of common tern.

Niels

[Rasmus Boegh]

Originally Posted by njlarsen

Are you sure that Common Tern is the expected one? In the Caribbean north of you (Dominica), I see Roseate tern regularly every summer, but have only seen common tern twice in six years and that was one in October and a small flock in september of a different year.

During the North Hemisphere winter, it is among the commonest, if not the commonest, tern in north-eastern South America, with literally thousands wintering at some sites. Banding studies suggest that, at least in Brazil, almost 90% of these are North American breeders (the remaining being from Europe or elsewhere within South America). I am not aware of the typical migration route between North and South America for this species, but the logical (and one followed by a number of other species) would be that they follow the chain of the Lesser Antilles, thereby passing Dominica in numbers. Anyway, with the few you've seen in Dominica, that presumably (and surprisingly, for me) isn't the case.

[njlarsen]

Rasmus, one of my friends talk about the one time he saw 50 common terns; without checking up with him, I believe it was in October but before I moved here in 2002.

Anyway, my main message is not seeing a single one in summer.

thanks
Niels

[njlarsen]

Additional thoughts:
I don't know if the CT in this area pulls an Arctic T immitation and goes mostly pelagic. I have been on several whale-watch tours, but mostly in mid summer or winter.

Furthermore, I do not know if the island I live on have some influence: the coasts are very steep and there are no salt ponds, so I would expect common terns passing to stay around for a lot longer in eg., St Martin, Antigua, Barbados, or even Puerto Rico.

Niels

[Dave B Smith]

Thanks all.

Niels, Roseate Tern is fairly common on Tobago but not on Trinidad. I've seen lots of Common Tern here but this is the first Roseate I've seen.

[Hotspur]

In barbados 2 years ago Roseate was the only tern we saw (which is what these birds are).

[njlarsen]

Originally Posted by Rasmus Boegh

During the North Hemisphere winter, it is among the commonest, if not the commonest, tern in north-eastern South America, with literally thousands wintering at some sites. Banding studies suggest that, at least in Brazil, almost 90% of these are North American breeders (the remaining being from Europe or elsewhere within South America). I am not aware of the typical migration route between North and South America for this species, but the logical (and one followed by a number of other species) would be that they follow the chain of the Lesser Antilles, thereby passing Dominica in numbers. Anyway, with the few you've seen in Dominica, that presumably (and surprisingly, for me) isn't the case.

Last week, I participated in a regional bird meeting. One of my friends, who works professionally in Guadeloupe with bird monitoring and has done a fair bit of seabird watching, have not seen Common Tern in numbers either. One difference between him and me is that he among other places works in Petite Terre Nature Reserve, a place I would expect to be much more attractive as a stopover site for terns than anything we have here in Dominica.

I can see two possibilities: either the common terns go pelagic or they use the Central American coast during migration.

Niels

[Cheshire Birder]

has to be Roseate Tern with all that bling!!

CB

[JANJ]

Note in the subject terns - the white upper edge on the primaries, another good feature for Roseate Tern.

http://www.netfugl.dk/pictures.php?i...icture_id=9006

http://www.netfugl.dk/pictures.php?i...picture_id=573

JanJ

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Cheshire Birder

has to be Roseate Tern with all that bling!!

CB

the bling (rings/bands for the non-chav-savvy) is interesting. i was aware that european roseates (which these are) are being ringed. but North American breeders too?

[Rasmus Boegh]

Originally Posted by JCL

i was aware that european roseates are being ringed. but North American breeders too?

If you're referring to post #4, it was about the Common Tern, not the Roseate. But yes, North American Roseates have been ringed, too. The US populations are considered endangered/threatened by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, so this is a species they keep a fairly close eye on. In Brazil, it appears the vast majority of Roseates visiting during the North Hemisphere winter are North American breeders; primarily from New York and Massachusetts, though I don't know if this can be explained by a banding bias within the US. I am aware of at least one European (from England, to be exact) having been re-captured in Brazil, and a few Roseates banded in Brazil have been re-captured in the Azores. These few individuals also represented some of the first firm evidence of a cross-Atlantic movement in this species. BTW, the Roseate is far commoner on the north-east Brazilian coast than old literature would suggest (another case of too few people looking for the birds, resulting in few being reported and thereby giving the mistaken impression that it was rare or even accidental).