Chlidonias hybrida

1 Whiskered Tern at Fyshwick, ACT

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Identification history

Chlidonias hybrida	18 Jan 2020	natureguy
Chlidonias hybrida	13 Jan 2020	Liam.m
Chlidonias leucopterus	24 Nov 2019	natureguy
Chlidonias hybrida	23 Nov 2019	RodDeb

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User's notes

quick fly by

5 comments

natureguy wrote:

24 Nov 2019

I have tentatively suggested this ID. It does not look like a Whiskered Tern, as it is white underneath, where Whiskered Tern would usually be darker. The facial markings also do not look right for Whiskered but seems ok for White-winged Black Tern. Also White-winged Black Tern has been seen at J Wetlands as recently as 16th Nov on eBird, so could easily be the same bird. However it is still a very tentative ID as tern identification is not my area of expertise. We will see what the other moderators think.

Luke

ArcherCallaway wrote:

27 Nov 2019

Not sure, we may need to ask around.

rawshorty wrote:

28 Nov 2019

WT can be white on the underside. The only indicator in these pics is a forked tail, from my recent research i have been doing WWBT have a square tail.

natureguy wrote:

11 Dec 2019

If you search White-winged Black Tern on eBird, there are many pictures of birds there with a slightly forked tail. See https://ebird.org/species/whwter/ for more information. However I am happy to go with whatever others think as I have very little experience with tern ID. I just though that this bird doesn't look like any Whiskered I have seen and seems to fit ok with WBBT.

natureguy wrote:

19 Jan 2020

I have confirmed this as Whiskered Tern because multiple people have now suggest that as the ID. After checking again it does fit some pictures of non-breeding plumage Whiskered so I will confirm as Whiskered.

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Location information

Sighting information

1 Abundance
22 Nov 2019 12:17 PM Recorded on
RodDeb Recorded by
Collections
RodDeb Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Chlidonias hybrida Other Waterbirds (Crakes, Grebes, Gulls and Terns) Water birds Birds

Species information

Chlidonias hybrida Scientific name
Whiskered Tern Common name
Not Sensitive
Rare or uncommon native
Non-invasive or negligible
Up to 685.4m Recorded at altitude
External link More information
Synonyms
Chlidonias (Pelodes) hybrida