neef Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Texas coast a few weeks ago. I included a Royal Tern to the left of the target bird for reference. It's facing away but the size seems right and the bill seems to be all black Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiley Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Any more photos? I can't rule out Sandwich from this pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nighthawk01 Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neef Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 I don't have another of this specific bird but here's another candidate for Gull-Billed. I don't see the yellow at the tip but that mark is so small on Sandwich Terns... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiley Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 7 minutes ago, neef said: I don't have another of this specific bird but here's another candidate for Gull-Billed. I don't see the yellow at the tip but that mark is so small on Sandwich Terns... This isn't a Gull-billed. Note the long and thin bill. GBTEs have short, quite thick bills. It looks like a Black Tern to me, but I'm trying to figure out how that fits with the apparent black cap I'm seeing here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiley Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 The original bird might be a Gull-billed, but we're not going to be able to make the call for sure without a better look at the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neef Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 Now I remember just how small the bird in the 2nd pic was. Hard to judge scale against the ocean with the photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 I’d go with Sandwich for the first bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean C Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 8 hours ago, blackburnian said: I’d go with Sandwich for the first bird. Agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamRHead Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 I agree with Sandwich on the first bird. Even at this angle there is too much bill length for Gull-billed, and I think I see yellow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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