floraphile Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 10 Mar 2021 Baldwin co. AL ; Mobile Bay I couldn't discern leg color, but that black at the edge of the wing stood out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hasan Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 (edited) Why did you rule out Bonaparte's Gull? That wing pattern is distinctive, not to mention the dark hood. Edited March 10, 2021 by Hasan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floraphile Posted March 10, 2021 Author Share Posted March 10, 2021 12 minutes ago, Hasan said: Why did you rule out Bonaparte's Gull? That wing pattern is distinctive, not to mention the dark hood. I didn't even think about Bonaparte's, but would Bonaparte's not have a shorter bill and less black and also only as a smudge posterior to the eye (we only have nonbreeding individuals here)? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Leukering Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 These are Forster’s Terns. All Sterna terns have black or blackish tips to the underside of the outer primaries, so those are not particularly helpful in ID, unless one has studied 100s or 1000s of each species and knows the variation in them. Even then, it’s difficult discerning the amount and blackness of the dark on each feather tip when the wing is moving. I don’t bother, unless it’s something locally rare (like an inland Arctic). 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 40 minutes ago, Hasan said: Why did you rule out Bonaparte's Gull? That wing pattern is distinctive, not to mention the dark hood. Too front-heavy for a little gull like a Bonaparte's. They've got big heads and bills. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hasan Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 6 minutes ago, The Bird Nuts said: Too front-heavy for a little gull like a Bonaparte's. They've got big heads and bills. Ah, I wasn't seeing the shape/structure correctly. I'll retract my ID. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Leukering Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Back to the original question, Sandwich Tern has three black or blackish outer primaries, not black tips to the five outer primaries, as on Sterna tern species. The resultant black edges go in directions perpendicular (or mostly so) to each other. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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