Earnest lad
Well-known member
Dear colleagues
I am trying to make sense ( not being an expert) of a Tern that I got a brief sighting of last month in the Danube Delta area of Romania, but was not able to get a photo of. It was apparently fishing in the river.
The bird had a full black cap and thus would have been I guess in summer adult plumage - a clean bird.
As I saw the bird close up I noticed the bill was pure all-black.
Later on when I was thinking about this bird I more or less concluded that it would have been a Gull-billed Tern.
When I thought about this bill I considered other Terns that are seen in the area wouldn't have fit the description, and that therefore it must have been a Gull-billed Tern. A Gull-billed tern would be a lifer for me.
However I have just seen online some photo's of Common Terns with adult plumage and black bills. Perhaps there is some mistake here but I was not aware that summer plumaged Common Terns can have black bills
Please see for example the website here
http://www.tsuru-bird.net/a_species/tern_common/
This website shows a photo of a Common Tern in adult plumage with a black bill. I am now quite confused and no longer certain that the bird I saw was in fact a Gull-billed Tern.
Any advice on this matter would be much appreciated. Thank you.
I am trying to make sense ( not being an expert) of a Tern that I got a brief sighting of last month in the Danube Delta area of Romania, but was not able to get a photo of. It was apparently fishing in the river.
The bird had a full black cap and thus would have been I guess in summer adult plumage - a clean bird.
As I saw the bird close up I noticed the bill was pure all-black.
Later on when I was thinking about this bird I more or less concluded that it would have been a Gull-billed Tern.
When I thought about this bill I considered other Terns that are seen in the area wouldn't have fit the description, and that therefore it must have been a Gull-billed Tern. A Gull-billed tern would be a lifer for me.
However I have just seen online some photo's of Common Terns with adult plumage and black bills. Perhaps there is some mistake here but I was not aware that summer plumaged Common Terns can have black bills
Please see for example the website here
http://www.tsuru-bird.net/a_species/tern_common/
This website shows a photo of a Common Tern in adult plumage with a black bill. I am now quite confused and no longer certain that the bird I saw was in fact a Gull-billed Tern.
Any advice on this matter would be much appreciated. Thank you.