Terns offshore Cairns, Australia (1 Viewer)

[ogurvits]

Last September, I was on a Great Barrier Reef tour off Cairns, Australia, and took these pictures of some terns on a little island. There were a lot of Great Crested Terns around, but also a few that were smaller. I think there are two species of terns here, but I can't place them - can anyone help? One might be a Common Tern, but then I am not sure what the smaller of the terns is:

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Thank you!

 

[Deb Burhinus]

The terns at the top left in #1 look better for Lesser Crested (very orange bills), under them, possibly a Little Tern and Common Terns, I’m not sure about the others

 

[THE_FERN]

The terns at the top left in #1 look better for Lesser Crested (very orange bills), under them, possibly a Little Tern and Common Terns, I’m not sure about the others

Agree with this. I think the dark primaries rule out fairy tern (which ebird suggests is possible if uncommon cf little there)

 

[sicklebill]

Lesser Crested, Common and Little, all to be expected at Michaelmas Cay, Fairy is a Major vagrant here and I would doubt most records on e-bird.

 

[ogurvits]

Thank you!!