Adults: Breeding: Head, throat, breast, belly, black. Eye, dark brown. Back, scapulars, blackish. Tertials, dark grey. Outer primaries, grey. Inner primaries, secondaries, greater coverts, grey. Rump, tail, lower belly, undertail coverts, white. Underwing coverts, greyish-white. Bill, dark red. Legs, reddish. Non-breeding: Lores, forehead, forecrown just above eye, white. Crown, greyish mixed with white. Ear spot, which extends further behind eye than in White-winged, and narrow crescent before eye, black. Nape, blackish. Collar, white, joins all white underparts. Back, most of wings, uniform mid-grey, with outer primaries darker. Distinctive dark mark on side of upperbreast near wing. Rump, greyish leading to pale grey tail. Bill, black. Legs, flesh-grey to orange.
Immatures: Like non-breeding but crown dark brownish-grey. Wings, mostly grey with light edges to feathers. Rump greyer than White-winged. Bill, black but yellowish at base. Legs, yellow-brown.
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) [XC664447]
by Uku Paal from Aardlapalu, Kastre Rural Municipality, Tartu maakond, Estonia (flight call)
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) [XC831977]
by Keith Corliss from Ortegal (near Cari\u00f1o), A Coru\u00f1a, Galicia, Spain (nocturnal flight call)
Nest
A low heap of water weed or a shallow scrape lined with water weed.
Eggs (Guide)
2 - 4; glossy, buffish or greenish, strongly marked with dark brown; oval. Incubation: 21 - 22 days; by both sexes.
Subspecies
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
niger (Linnaeus, 1758) - Southern Scandinavia south to southern Spain, and eastern through eastern Europe and western Asia to L Balkhash and Altai. Winters in Africa.
surinamensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) - Great Slave L, southern Mackenzie and central Manitoba south to California, and east to Great Lakes, north-western Pennsylvania and north-western New York, with disjunct populations in Kansas, Indiana and northern Vermont. Winters in Central America and northern South America.
Similar Species
White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)
Non-breeding with non-breeding. Bill is heavier. Taill is shorter. Head is smutty black, with black extending onto ear coverts but not over eye. Lacks a distinctive dark mark on side of upper breast near the wing. Has a white collar. In flight has a dark leading edge of upperwing near body. Rump is white. Breeding with breeding. Bill is red. Wings darker grey. In flight, underwings black. Rump is white.
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida)
Non-breeding and immatures with non-breeding and immatures. Crown is whiter and streaked black. Head is less rounded. Has a less distinct white collar. Lacks the leading darker edges of the wings. Tends to dive for food rather that plucking food from surface.
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