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10

Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus) Alternate name(s): "Brown-winged Tern", "Dog Tern" Size: 30-32 cm; wing span ca. 75-80 cm Weight: 95-150 g

Oman: Family Group 10 Family Group 10 Table Slender-billed Gull Sooty Gull Caspian Gull Heuglin's Gull Greater Crested Tern Lesser Crested Tern Gull-billed Tern Caspian Tern Sandwich Tern Common Tern Little Tern Whiskered Tern White-cheeked Tern Bridled Tern Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Bridled Terns are medium-sized terns. They have a black cap that also covers the entire nape of the neck, connecting to the dark-grey mantle and wings. The black eyes are set into a black eye stripe. Frons and front (throat, chest, belly, vent) are all white. Bill, legs and feet are black. The underwings are white, except for a broad dark-grey trailing edge. Juvenile Bridled Terns have a light-grey frons and front and a mottled grey cap. The upperwings and mantle are scalloped dark-grey with brownish edge lining. Twitcher's tip Compared to Sooty Terns, the Bridled Tern is somewhat lighter in appearance.

Taxonomy, classification See Bridled Tern at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Bridled Tern is available HERE . Bridled Terns are a global species, with several races across various continents. Nominate race "anaethetus" populates the eastern Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and the south-eastern Asian waters in between, including the North-Australian seaboard. Race "antarcticus" is found in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the western Indian Ocean. Race "melanopterus" is found in the Caribbean and in western Africa, while race "nelsoni" populates the West coast of Mexico and central America. In Arabia only race "antarcticus" is found. They are summer visitors to their breeding grounds along the coastline, in particular rocky offshore islands, mostly along the North coast, but also the Red Sea coastline. They are not found anywhere inland.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "antarcticus" Bridled Terns, race "antarcticus", were first spotted by us off Ras Al-Sawadi, about 100 km west of Muscat, in May 2010. They are conspicuous even at a distance because of their long, forked tails. A flock of about 10 birds was seen by us. Race "anaethetus" We have spotted Bridled Terns, race "anaethetus", in Australia.

Photos

Race "antarcticus"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Lateral view of a Bridled Tern in flight
[Ras Al-Sawadi, May 2010]

Near-dorsal view and different phase of the wing beat of a Bridled Tern in flight
[Ras Al-Sawadi, May 2010]

Group of Bridled Terns in flight
[Ras Al-Sawadi, May 2010]

These Bridled Terns were seen by us hunting above shallow water, near Al-Sawadi island just a few hundred metres off-shore
[Ras Al-Sawadi, May 2010]

Race "anaethetus"

Photos of race "anaethetus", including nests and eggs, were taken by us in Australia.

Food, Diet

Like all terns, Bridled Terns feed on fish, which they catch with their bills just under the surface of water in a steep high-speed dive from considerable height.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

bridtrn_jg_20160306.m4a	anaethetus (SW WA)	?	© JG
bridtrn_jg_20160306_2.m4a	anaethetus (SW WA)	?	© JG

More Bridled Tern sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Tue, 23 May 2023, 20:44 +00:00