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Tern Help! (1 Viewer)

m1sterjay

Member
Hey everyone,

These were taken a couple days ago in New York City.

I spend most of my time in forests, so I apologize if this is an obvious ID problem I am having--but any birds near water are new to me.

My initial assumption was Forster's Tern, and I guess I am here for confirmation or a second opinion!

Tried to include shots of upper and lower wing, bill color, tail shape, and cap.

There was a small group of them. They were feeding near shore, flapping in place with heads still and then diving down to fish.

Any help would be appreciated!
 

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I think all are Common Terns. If you enlarge, you can see that the outer web of the tail feathers is dark and inner web light. Forester's has the opposite pattern, dark inner web and light outer web.
Andy
 
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