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Photo © by Delia Todd
Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia, 4 October 2019
Alternative name: Australian Gull-billed Tern
- Gelochelidon macrotarsa
Identification
Length 33–43 cm (13-17 in), wingspan 85-103 cm, weight 130-300 g.
A stocky but long-legged, gull-like tern with a stout, all-black bill. In flight, broad-winged, reminiscent of a small gull or a large marsh tern.
- cap black in summer, reduced to a small black ear patch in winter
- tail only shallowly forked
- upperparts, including wings, pale silvery-grey
- tips of primaries dark, generally giving a dark trailing edge
- rump and tail white
- underparts white
- legs black, long
Similar species
Gull-billed Tern is smaller with a smaller bill, has pale grey rump (not white), and as non-breeeding has smaller black ear coverts. There is overlap in range for non-breeding birds.
Distribution
Australia (except arid areas). Seems during non-breeding season to be at least annual in Papua New Guinea and eastern Indonesia. Occurs as a vagrant in New Zealand about annually.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Breeds in wetlands in interior Australia, while it is mostly coastal when not breeding.
Behaviour
Somewhat nomadic when breeding because not all wetlands are wet every year. Winter distribution likely influenced by where breeding was possible in the preceding season.
Vocalisation
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Australian Tern. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Australian_Tern
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
