10 |
![]() |
Gull-billed TernAlternate name(s): "Long-legged Tern" ![]() Size: 33-42 cm; wing span 75-90 cm Weight: 150-290 g |
![]() |
Similar |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() |
|
||||||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Photos |
Race "nilotica"
![]() |
ADULT |
Sex unknown |
![]() |
BREEDING |
Near-frontal view of a Gull-billed Tern in breeding
plumage in flight
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]
Near-frontal view of a Gull-billed Tern in breeding
plumage in flight
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]
Near-frontal/ventral view of a Gull-billed Tern in breeding
plumage in flight
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]
Lateral view of a Gull-billed Tern in breeding
plumage in flight
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]
Lateral view of a Gull-billed Tern in breeding
plumage in flight
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]
Lateral view of a Gull-billed Tern in breeding
plumage in flight,
wings up
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]
Lateral/ventral view of a Gull-billed Tern in breeding
plumage
in flight issuing its call
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]
Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Gull-billed Tern in breeding
plumage in flight
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]
Gull-billed Terns in both breeding plumage (black caps) and
non-breeding plumage
(strong black bills, but white cap), on a roost together with
other seabirds, primarily a flock of Black-headed Gulls
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]
![]() |
NON-BREEDING |
Lateral view of a Gull-billed Tern in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]
Near-dorsal view of a Gull-billed Tern in non-breeding
plumage
in flight
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]
![]() |
IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Juveniles (the bird sitting highest and the one on the far right)
as part of a small group of Gull-billed Terns
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Badajoz, Badajoz province, Spain, July 2018]
Race "affinis"
Gull-billed Terns, race "affinis", were photographed by us in Australia.
Race "macrotarsa"
Gull-billed Terns, race "macrotarsa", were photographed by us in Australia.
![]() |
Food, Diet |
Like all terns, Gull-billed Terns feed on fish and other aquatic animals, which they catch with their bills just under the surface of water in a steep high-speed dive from considerable height.
Gull-billed Tern in breeding
plumage
pouncing on its prey in a submerged rice paddy
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]
Gull-billed Tern in breeding
plumage
about to take off with its prey, which looks like a grasshopper
- in which case the bird is the farmer's "best friend"
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]
Gull-billed Tern in breeding
plumage
defending its catch against a Black-headed Gull
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]
Near-dorsal view of a Gull-billed Tern in breeding
plumage
taking off with its prey, possibly a prawn
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]
Flock of about 100 Gull-billed Terns in breeding
plumage
hunting above a submerged rice paddy
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]
Flock of about Gull-billed Terns in breeding
plumage
in a submerged rice paddy
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]