Australian Tern - BirdForum Opus

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Subspecies S. n. macrotarsa
Photo © by Delia Todd
Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia, 4 October 2019

Alternative name: Australian Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon macrotarsa

Identification

Length 35–43 cm (13-17 in), wingspan 100-115 cm.
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
Bill black, may give a slight indication of drooping tip
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/
Pizzey, G and F Knight. 1997. Field Guide to Birds of Australia. London: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0207196911
Mlodinow, S. G. (2023). Australian Tern (Gelochelidon macrotarsa), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (N. D. Sly, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gubter3.01

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Australian Tern. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 8 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Australian_Tern

External Links

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