Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon nilotica affinis
Foreshore, Karumba Point, FNW Qld IMG_7426 20200929 - non-breeding plumage w. Whiskered Tern x 2 in breedingplumage. CLICK to see the bird w. Australian Terns in breeding plumage on left.
Notes: Like Australian Tern but smaller w. shorter, straighter, chisel-shaped black bill; upperparts
darker. Breeding plumage: full black cap. Non-breeding plumage: clean white head & lores w. only a small eye-
patch, possibly connected to a black spot on the ear-coverts. Slow steady gull-like flight. Forages
on the wing. Strictly coastal. One of five ssp, affinis is a summer migrant to Aust. from Asia
(Sept–May).
Range based on Menkhorst et al. (2019).
Crab Creek, Roebuck Bay, NW WA IMG_1874b 20180907 - GbT on left, Australian Tern on right: both in non-breedingplumage. CLICK to compare eye-patches & bill shapes: GbT (chisel shaped) on left, AT (stout, gull-like) on right.
Crab Creek, Roebuck Bay, NW WA IMG_1874a 20180907 - several GbT in non-breeding plumage, Australian Tern on leftin breeding plumage, Eastern Curlew behind.
Quarry Beach, Roebuck Bay, NW WA IMG_2060 20180909 - non-breeding plumage
Foreshore, Broome Bird Observatory, Roebuck Bay, FW WA IMG_0719 20180831 - non-breeding plumage x 2.
Foreshore, Karumba Point, FNW Qld IMG_7431 20200929 - non-breeding plumage.
Location IMG_xxxx 20191129