Adults: Breeding: Head, throat, breast, belly, black. Eye, dark brown. Back, scapulars, blackish. Tertials, dark grey. Outer primaries, dark grey. Inner primaries, secondaries, greater coverts, grey leading to all white lesser coverts. Rump, tail, lower belly, undertail coverts, white. Underwing coverts, blackish. Bill, dull red. Legs, orange. Non-breeding: Lores, forehead, forecrown just above eye, white. Crown, greyish mixed with white. Ear spot and narrow crescent before eye, black. Nape, blackish. Collar, white, joins all white underparts. Back, most of wings, light grey, with outer primaries darker. Rump, whitish leading to pale grey tail, both contrasting with greyer back. Bill, black. Legs, flesh-grey to orange.
Immatures: Like non-breeding but crown dark brownish-grey. Back and scapulars form a distinct dark brownish-grey saddle. Wings, mostly grey with light edges to feathers. Bill, black. Legs, flesh-grey to orange.
Other Names (World)
White-winged Tern, White-winged Black Tern, White-winged Marsh Tern, Black Tern, White-tailed Tern, White-winged Sea-swallow
A non-breeding summer migrant to north, east and south-east Australia (September - May). May acquire breeding plumage before departure, some overwinter.
Habitat
Mainly coastal or subcoastal, fresh or saline wetlands, harbours, bays, estuaries and lagoons and their assiciated flats, swamps, lakes, billabongs, rivers, floodplains, reservoirs, saltworks, sewerage ponds. Forage and roost in small flocks, but in April - May gather in large flocks preparing for northward migration.
Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia (B), Australia, Austria (P), Azerbaijan (B) (P), Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus (B), Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria (B), Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China (mainland), Congo, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B) (P), Cyprus (P), Czech Republic, Denmark (P), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia (B), Ethiopia, France (B), Gabon, Gambia, Georgia (B), Germany (B) (P), Ghana, Greece (P), Guam (NB), Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Hong Kong (China), Hungary (B), India, Indonesia, Iran [Islamic Republic of], Iraq (B) (P), Israel (P), Italy (B) (P), Japan, Jordan (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait (B), Laos, Latvia (B), Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania (B), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B), Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia (NB), Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Micronesia [Federated States of] (NB), Moldova [Republic of] (B) (P), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B) (P), Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands (B), New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Oman, Pakistan, Palau (NB), Papua New Guinea, Philippines (NB), Poland (B), Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania (B) (P), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B) (P), Russia (European) (B) (P), Rwanda, Saudi Arabia (P), Senegal, Serbia (B) (P), Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B), Slovenia (P), Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan (China), Tajikistan (B), Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand, Timor-Leste (NB) (P), Togo, Tunisia, Turkey (B) (P), Turkmenistan (B), Uganda, Ukraine (B) (P), United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Vagrant to Afghanistan, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Dominica, Faroe Islands, Finland, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Ireland, Lebanon, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Montserrat, Nauru, Norway, Portugal, Réunion, Sâo Tomé e Principe, Solomon Islands, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Sweden, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom, USA, Virgin Islands (U.S.).
North-western Italy and central and eastern Europe eastern through Siberia, Transbaikalia and northern Mongolia to Amurland. Has bred in New Zealand. Winters in Africa, and from southern Asia to Australia and New Zealand.
Breeds across Europe and Asia, summer visitor to Australia, especially in the north and east, regularly south to about Newcastle, New South Wales, more erratically further south.
White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) [XC791421]
by Peter Boesman from Leanyer, City of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia (call)
White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) [XC740168]
by from Gayal, Al Bad, Tabuk Province, Saudi Arabia (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds in eastern Europe, Russia and China.
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Nest
A structure composed of vegetable debris, on water-surrounded clumps of vegetation, occasionally on floating pond material, partly submerged waterweed, having a slight depression. In large colonies. Often in the company of Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida).
Eggs (Guide)
2 - 3; glossy, cream to brown, boldly marked with black and ash-grey; long-oval; about 33 x 24 mm. Incubation: about 20 days; by both sexes.
Subspecies
Apparently hybridizes with Black Tern (Chlidonias niger).
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida)
Immature and non-breeding with non-breeding. Lores has both black and white. Crown has both black and white. Lacks a distinct black ear spot. Head is less rounded. Has a less distinct white collar. Lacks the leading darker edges of the wings. Tail is more deeply forked. Bill is longer and heavier. Tends to dive for food rather that plucking food from surface.
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)
Non-breeding with non-breeding. Bill is finer. Taill is longer. Head is blacker, with black extending over eye and ear coverts. Has a distinctive dark mark on side of upper breast near the wing. Has a narrow white collar. In flight has a dark leading edge of upperwing near body. Rump is grey. Breeding with breeding. Bill is black. Wings grey. In flight, underwings greyish white. Rump is grey.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet