Appearance:

Breeding adult easily identified by white tail/rump combined with jet black under wing coverts and silvery upper wing. Immature with brownish back contrasting with pale, silvery upper wings and pale rump. Broad white collar, and lacks dark breast patch of immature Black Tern. Adult winter most liable to confusion with other terns, but upperparts much paler than Black Tern. Contrasting dark outer primaries and secondaries to rest of wing. Often retains some black under coverts even in winter which is diagnostic if seen. Slightly more compact than Black Tern and often recalls Little gull in shape. Bill noticeably shorter and thinner than in Whiskered Tern.

Sound:

Mostly silent away from breeding ground. Most diagnostic call a dry, rolling "krrrrrr-ta-ta" where the rolling is followed by one or two accentuated syllables, or just simply "krrrrrr". Used in excitement.

Call:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

CC

CC-sound:Marco Dragonetti, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Dick Hoek, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Lars Buckx, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Small, compact and energetic crow with black upperparts, dark grey underparts and short bill. Most visible plumage character is the pale grey hind neck contrasting with the dark face. Eye white in adults. Often recognized from its compact body and upright posture and gait alone. Flight quick and light.

Sound:

Most typical call a very short, cheerful and resonant "kyak". Timbre may vary by mood. Other sounds include subdued song with a large variety of sounds, and a grating alarm call "krrrrrrr".

Contact call:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC