Oman. Sea birds (1 Viewer)

[testoduro]

Last week. My attempts:

1. Steppe Gull.
2. A Palla's Gull in front of a choir of Greater Crested Tern. I don't know what the young gull on the far left is.
3 Two Lesser Crested Terns in the middle. I don't know how to tell LCT apart from GCTs but these particular birds look smaller than the surrounding Sooty Gulls.
4 A small Sandwich Tern? in the middle. However, I can't spot a yellow tip on its bill.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Butty]

3 Two Lesser Crested Terns in the middle.

Greater crested terns. No different from the others.

4 A small Sandwich Tern?

A lesser crested tern? Guessing.

 

[testoduro]

Thanks Butty, I enclose two more pictures of 4 (4B and 4C). The bird looks very small in comparison to the Greater Crested Terns and Sooty Gulls in the back. Pic 4C, unlike pics 4A and 4B, shows a very curved bill. A Little/ Saunder's Tern?

 

[THE_FERN]

A lesser crested tern? Guessing.

perhaps common? [bill looks weird for either sp]

 

[THE_FERN]

Thanks Butty, I enclose two more pictures of 4 (4B and 4C). The bird looks very small in comparison to the Greater Crested Terns and Sooty Gulls in the back. Pic 4C, unlike pics 4A and 4B, shows a very curved bill. A Little/ Saunder's Tern?

yes this does look very small, and last pic in particular recalls one of those 2 [4c]

 

[Butty]

Odd. Really doesn't make me think little tern. But maybe the leg and bill colours are just photo-artefact - after all, the top half of the head looks pinkish...

 

[AFM]

I am in Oman right now and have been seeing the same terns all over! The ones in photos 4B and 4C I mean. My current guess is non-breeding Common Terns but I am not sure. I just posted my own thread about this with lots of photos, in case that helps. At least the ones I've seen have been significantly bigger than Little Terns (I have a photo with a Little Tern in it too) but they really don't seem big enough to be Sandwich terns and anyway I don't see any yellow tips. I am also wondering if it could be a non-breeding White-Cheeked Tern because those look very similar to Common Terns - not really sure how to tell the difference with non-breeding plumage on those two though...

 

[lou salomon]

1. is a 2cy Heuglin's Gull as are the two adults in pic 3 (dark mantled, background)
4 is a 2cy Little/Saunder's Tern

 

[testoduro]

Thank you to all of you. Things are clearing up now. The only thing left is the identification of the large gull in pic. 2, of which I'm attaching an enlargement (2 B) Is it a Pallas's Gull?

 

[lou salomon]

yes, that's a Pallas's Gull.