Common vs Forster's Terns

A Common Tern gives itself a shakedown. Note the partial black "hood" extending all the way around the back of its neck, and bold carpal bar. Ormond Beach, Port Hueneme, CA.

Birders struggle with tern identification...it is a source of Fear and Loathing for beginner and veteran alike. Royal vs. Elegant, Black vs. White-winged, Sooty vs. Bridled, Common vs. Arctic, Common vs. Roseate, and perhaps most frequently of all, Common vs. Forster's. Here are a few shots and notes that could be helpful to tell immature birds of these two species apart. The process is frequently messy and not always a perfect match for field guides (which is their fault, not yours), but it can be done! As always, knowing status and distribution can provide some great hints, but anything can happen during migration.

Forster's Tern, with "earmuffs" that don't wrap around the back of the head. Common Terns never sport this kind of headgear. Poe Road, Salton Sea, CA.

A Common Tern conveniently shows off its outer tail feathers, which feature black on the outer webs. Ormond Beach.

A Forster's Tern stoops to catch a Tilapia. Check out the white/gray tail. This bird has extensive black in the primaries, which birders often assume is associated only with Common Tern. Poe Road.

One of my better Common Tern shots. Note how pale the primaries appear from this angle, which is not what birders expect...but everything else points exactly to Common, including the delicate bill. Taking tern pictures can be extremely frustrating, but when they suddenly bank to dive on a fish or other prey, it makes for a pretty sweet shot if you can catch it in time. Ormond Beach.

This is a pretty good quiz bird. There is black in the tail, but the outer retrices are clearly edged in white...this is a Forster's Tern. Poe Road.

Here's a pretty "typical" Forster's Tern, with earmuffs and pale upperwing. Also note the slightly longer and heavier bill. Poe Road.

Common Tern. Compare the underwing pattern of this bird with the above Forster's. Ormond Beach.

This Common Tern has a touch of yellow at the tip of the bill. Although not a frequently observed trait, it happens enough for a birder to think twice before you think you find an out of range or hybrid Sandwich Tern. Poe Road.

Batting Away Terns/Birding Poe Road

One of Poe's many Forster's Terns. This picture summons up Charley Harper artwork for me. Do you see, Flycatcher Jen? Do you see?

Poe Road is the southernmost access to the Salton Sea, a little bit removed from the heavily-birded area between Bowles Road and the Wister Unit and not as well known as the end of Vendel Road (i.e. Bean Goose town). I'm always impressed with the numbers of birds here, and I don't think it will be long before some ubervagrant shows up on this prime piece of shoreline, although I'm sure plenty have in the past. When I lurked out there last week there was a big flock of terns sitting around, as well as a horde of Brown pelicans, decent numbers of shorebirds and some much sought-after Yellow-footed Gulls.

Since the level of the Salton Sea is always changing (I would say "shrinking" is the general trend), there is now a pretty solid roadway of sorts that goes all the way to the shore now; this is easily driveable by any vehicle (assuming no recent rain or Salton Sea level rise), making it a great place to both bird/photograph from your car and set up a scope in a desperate and probably futile attempt to find a Blue-footed Booby plunge-diving offshore. Make sure you check this spot out if you haven't already.

Forster's Tern. The grayness of the bird has shaken the birding community to its very core, as this field mark is popular for people to use in separating Forster's and Common Terns (only Commons are supposed to be this gray). However, after seeing gray-bellied Forster's Terns in San Diego all spring and summer, I say this field mark is helpful at most, and to solely rely on this makes you a sketchy birder. You heard it here first, Sibley!


Seriously though, if you have any more compelling reasons to tell me why this is a Common Tern, I would love to hear them...especially if your name rhymes with "Benn Baufman". The bird strikes me as too long-tailed and long-billed...but I am no Benn Baufman, who ranks pretty high on the Global Birder Ranking Scale.

Forster's Tern (same bird as in the above photos).

Black and Forster's Terns milling around in the awful heat. It was blood-boilingly hot that afternoon, which adds to the surreal feeling of birding the sea in summer.

Caspian Terns are thick at the Salton Sea; easily one of the commonest birds there this time of year. This one is sharp-looking.

Terns are generally really good looking birds in spring and early summer, but they are cursed with baldness for their youth and for many months of the year.

This is a little tilapia that a Forster's Tern dropped. More like a Falling Fish than a Flying Fish. I wonder what it was thinking when this photo was taken.

The salty bird gods of the Salton Sea allowed me to get a bit closer to Western Sandpipers than I normally do.

Western Sandpipers. I would guess the long-billed bird on the left is a female and the one on the right may be a male, just going by bill length. 

Just a giant pile of dead fish, par for the course at the Salton Sea. Man, what a fucked up place.

All the crap and dead trees that litter the shoreline of the Salton Sea can really add to bird photos. This Snowy Egret shot is 70% better with this dumb post in the foreground than it would be without it.