Gelochelidon macrotarsa
Australian Tern at Port Douglas, QLD
Identify this sighting
| Gelochelidon macrotarsa | Liam.m | 6 Aug 2023 | |
| Gelochelidon macrotarsa | BenW | 6 Aug 2023 | |
| Thalasseus bergii | CarbonAI | 6 Aug 2023 | |
| Sternula albifrons | BenW | 6 Aug 2023 | |
| Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae | CarbonAI | 6 Aug 2023 | |
| Gelochelidon macrotarsa | BenW | 6 Aug 2023 |
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User's notes
A large flock of terns flying from the estuary out to sea. I had intitially identified them as gull-billed terns, but the pictures show they are non-breeding little terns. My reasoning for this is:
1. The black on the head is centred on the nape and ends at the eye
2. The birds did not have a complete black cap, as shown by the 1st
image, which breeding gull-bills would have
3. The black patch was sharp and well-defined, unlike the dull, patchy
area behind the eye on non-breeding gull bills.
See linked image: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/122819371
5 comments
6 Aug 2023
I tend to agree with Luke here, especially the bird in the first image. @TomW are you able to crop the photos and reupload them so we can see the birds more clearly? Thanks
6 Aug 2023
See updated notes - unfortunately the cropped images are quite blurry. I'm actually starting to lean towards gull-billed again anyway, but not sure about some of the features on the first bird (again, see updated comments).
6 Aug 2023
Yes, well at least photos 2 and 3 are Gull-billed in my view. Not 100% sure about all the birds in the flock.
6 Aug 2023
I agree. Could you maybe remove the rest of the photos and upload them as a separate sighting (with some of the flock photos cropped). Thanks
Location information
- Coordinates 145.460216-16.480265
- Places Port Douglas, QLD
Sighting information
- 24 Abundance
- 28 Jun 2023 07:19 AM Recorded on
- BenW Recorded by
Collections
- BenW NatureMapr Other Waterbirds (Crakes, Grebes, Gulls and Terns) Water birds Birds Gelochelidon macrotarsa
Species information
- Gelochelidon macrotarsa Scientific name
- Australian Tern Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 20.3m Recorded at altitude
Seasonal activity
-
Was this a nesting or breeding site?
JFMAMJJASOND
Record quality
Quality score
4 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Description
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Additional attributes