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PLATE 56: SMALLER TERNS
Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii mb, sv
L: 38 (including tail streamers). W: 77. Similar to Common Tern but adult paler above; whiter below,
tinged pink in breeding season. Long, thin bill largely blackish in spring but becomes red by July;
tail streamers very long and white. Wing pattern diagnostic at all ages – dusky outer primaries
lacking black line along trailing edge of outer primaries below. At rest, tail streamers protrude far
beyond tip of tail; legs longer than Common. Winter plumage similar to Common but retains long tail
streamers. Juvenile, which has short tail streamers, told from Common/Arctic by underwing pattern
(white trailing edge to outer primaries below); also has darker forehead than Common/Arctic and
more scaly upperparts and scapulars. Flight fast and direct with stiffer, more rapid wingbeats than
Common. Voice Characteristic, soft guttural cherr-wrick. Habitat Coastal. Note Passage hatched;
vagrant Bahrain, Saudi Arabia (Gulf), UAE.Common Tern Sterna hirundo PM, wv, sv
L: 35. W: 80. Closely resembles Arctic Tern, with wings slightly broader, tail streamers shorter, bill
and legs longer, forehead flatter and wingbeats often more powerful. Dark outer primaries above
abruptly cut off from grey inner primaries (uniformly pale grey in Arctic); from below has blackish
band on trailing edge of outer primaries and translucency confined to innermost primaries (all
translucent in Arctic); bill dark orange-crimson, usually tipped black; cheeks and throat whiter
than in Arctic. Bill of adult in subspecies minussensis appears all black in summer (close to up to
half of basal half and cutting edges deep red); also has white chin and throat but light grey breast
and belly, though grey paler than in breeding White-cheeked Tern, from which it also differs in
larger size, characteristic white rump, and differing upper- and underwing pattern. Juvenile best
told from similar Arctic by flight, dark grey secondaries above (white in Arctic), broader, darker
forewing-band above, and translucency and pattern of primaries (similar to adult); centre of rump
pale grey (clean white in Arctic). Voice Deeper than Arctic; sharp kitt; kirri-kirri-kirri, and a drawn-
out kreee-aeh. Habitat Coastal and inland waters. Note Passage hatched; winters mainly in S
Arabia. Subspecies minussensis is regular on passage in Arabian Sea and The Gulf (subspecies not
separable in winter plumage).White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa MB, PM
L: 33. Slightly smaller than Common Tern (often mixes on passage/winter) with shorter wings,
slightly shorter legs, and more slender bill, proportionately shorter than in Common Tern and
usually slightly downcurved. Adult in summer is dark silver-grey above with grey underbody;
underwing with whitish area in centre (also evident in juveniles) and primaries above appearing
paler than inner wing (both visible, and diagnostic, at considerable range); white cheek-stripe
recalls adult Whiskered Tern in summer (but tail-fork and bill longer); secondaries dull grey, with
long, broad black line to tips of outer primaries below. In winter, remains dull grey above (slightly
darker than Common), including rump and tail; underparts white, mottled with dark grey in some;
bill blackish. First-winter has broad blackish forewing-band and dark secondaries (like Common),
but mid-wing dull greyish rather than greyish-white as in Common; underwing similar to adult,
with rump and tail greyish (pale grey on centre of rump only in Common). Settled juvenile/first-
winter birds resemble marsh terns. Voice Often gentler than Common; loud kee-err or ker-rit with
emphasis on short second syllable (on first note in Common) and single kip, less sharp than Common.
Habitat Coastal and maritime; nests colonially on bare islands. Note Passage hatched; scarce in
S Arabia in winter.Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea V
L.: 38. W: 80. Similar to Common Tern but rounder head, shorter thicker neck, longer tail streamers
and more elegant, buoyant flight. Bill dark red, usually without black tip; legs shorter. In flight
all primaries appear translucent, revealing a thin, sharp black line to trailing edge of outer
primaries. In summer, greyish underparts with whitish band below black cap. Juvenile/first-winter
has white secondaries, diffuse dark bar on leading forewing and white rump. Voice Similar to
Common Tern, but harsher. Habitat Coastal; occasionally inland. Note Vagrant Kuwait, Oman, UAE.