Whiskered Tern
Chlidonias hybrida javanicus
Western Treatment Plant, Werribee, S Vic IMG_7723 20241201 - breeding plumage: black cap extends from red bill to nape.CLICK for one on 20180203.
Notes: Smallish tern w. black cap: nape to red bill. Dark belly.
Legs red. Wing tips reach much
longer than tail tips. Non-breeding adult very
pale above & below, black patch behind eye merging
into dark band across
nape; black bill. Female smaller. Aust. ssp javanicus pale breeding plumage.
Birds in S migrate in about Feb. to N parts of Aust. & Indonesia. Feeds
by picking from surface,
not splash-diving. Common around wetlands, lakes,
and rivers.
Range from Morcombe & Stewart©(modified)
Edithvale Wetlands, Melbourne, S Vic IMG_7735 20181222 - breeding plumage x 3
Whyalla, SE SA IMG_5145 20181201 - w. Crested Tern on left.
Western Treatment Plant, Werribee, S Vic IMG_7839 20241201 - CLICK for a flock on 20210101.
Karumba Point, FN Qld IMG_4710 20200618 - non-breeding plumage: dark band around nape evident.
Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, N NT IMG_4057+4053 20180729 - non-breeding plumage: dark band around nape not clear.
Edithvale Wetlands, Melbourne, S Vic IMG_8704 20190119 - breeding plumge
Roebuck Plains, NW WA IMG_1331 20180904 - immature: retained juvenile tertials.
Karumba Point, FN Qld IMG_4865 20200618 - juvenile: dark mottled back, crown more extensively dark,black eye-stripe extending onto ear-coverts.
Western Treatment Plant, Werribee, S Vic IMG_8165 20190924
Foreshore, Cairns, FNE Qld IMG_4572 20231005 - preening w. Australian Tern on left.