Whiskered Tern

The Whiskered Tern is the most broadly distributed of the marsh terns, breeding across warm-temperate wetlands of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Its shallowly forked tail and buoyant, dipping flight over open water distinguish it from the coastal terns it is sometimes seen alongside on migration.

• Breeding-plumage body feathers are a distinctive medium slate-gray, darker than the pale gray of coastal terns
• Undertail coverts are white, contrasting with the darker gray belly and flanks
• Tail feathers are only shallowly forked, shorter and less streamer-like than in coastal Sterna terns
• Flight feathers are gray above with paler, silvery underwing linings
• Body feathers lack the heavy barring seen in some shorebird families, appearing smooth and evenly toned

• Breeding adults show a full black cap, dark slate-gray underparts, and a white stripe along the cheek separating cap from body color
• Non-breeding adults become largely white below with a streaky gray crown and a dark smudge through the eye
• Juveniles show a scaly, brownish-buff pattern on the upperpart feathers that is lost during the first partial molt
• A complete molt follows breeding, with a further partial molt into breeding condition the following spring
• Sexes appear alike

This species breeds colonially on floating or emergent vegetation in shallow freshwater marshes, lakes, and flooded rice fields across a broad swath of the Old World, from southern Europe through Africa, Asia, and Australia. Populations at higher latitudes migrate to winter in tropical wetlands and coastal lagoons of Africa and southern Asia, while equatorial populations tend to be more sedentary.

Whiskered Terns forage with a light, buoyant flight, dipping to the water surface to pick up insects, small fish, and amphibians rather than plunge-diving from height. They nest in dense colonies on floating mats of vegetation, building a simple platform nest just above the waterline. Their calls are short, harsh, tern-like notes given mainly around the breeding colony.