Tern, Sandwich

Conservation status:

Common

Description:

Medium-sized tern with very pale grey upperparts and wings, long slender black bill tipped yellow (latter hard to see at distance), long narrow wings, medium-short forked tail and fairly long extended neck in flight, which is powerful with deep wing-beats. In summer, black cap has short crest; in winter, black confined to nape extending forward to eye (like Lesser Crested). Juvenile usually has all-black bill, dark-scaled mantle and forewing coverts but lacks the broad dark bars on innerwing of similar aged Lesser Crested; 1st winter has grey mantle and scapulars and head pattern like winter adult. See Gull-billed and Lesser Crested for further separation.