Bird Guide

Black Tern vs Whiskered Tern

Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)

Black Tern

Chlidonias niger

Medium65 gWetland

Adults are 25 cm (10 in) long, with a wingspan 61 cm (24 in), and weigh 62 g (2+1⁄8 oz). They have short dark legs and a short, weak-looking black bill, measuring 27 mm (1+1⁄16 in), nearly as long as the head. The bill is long, slender, and looks slightly decurved. They have a dark grey back, with a white forewing, black head, neck (occasionally suffused with grey in the adult) and belly, black or blackish-brown cap (which unites in color with the ear coverts, forming an almost complete hood), and a light brownish-grey, 'square' tail. The face is white.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Black Tern
Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma · Call · Glacial Lakes State Park, Pope County, Minnesota, United States · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: mourad-harzallah · CC BY 4.0
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida)

Whiskered Tern

Chlidonias hybrida

Medium84 gWetland

The size, black cap, strong bill (29–34 mm in males, 25–27 mm and stubbier in females, with a pronounced gonys) and more positive flight recall common or Arctic tern, but the short, forked-looking tail and dark grey breeding plumage above and below are typically marsh tern characteristics. The summer adult has white cheeks and red legs and bill. The crown is flecked with white in the juvenile, and the hindcrown is more uniformly blackish, though in the winter adult this too is flecked with white.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: mourad-harzallah · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black Tern and Whiskered Tern.