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10

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) Size: 48-60 cm; wing span: 1.25-1.45 m Weight: 530-780 g

Oman: Family Group 10 Family Group 10 Table Parasitic Jaeger 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

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Caspian Terns are the largest of all terns. During the breeding season they have a black cap, white front (throat, neck, chest, belly and vent) and grey wings. The black eyes are surrounded by the black cap, while the frons (base of the bill) is white. The pointy, long bill is red with a black tip, the short legs and feet are black. In eclipse the cap becomes mottled black-and-white and only a stripe behind the eyes remains solid dark-grey to black. Juvenile Caspian Terns are mottled grey, with a mottled cap. Twitcher's tip Compared to Greater Crested Terns, the Caspian Tern is much bigger and has a red bill with black tip (rather than yellow).

Taxonomy, classification See Caspian Tern at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species 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 Caspian Tern is available HERE . Caspian Terns are a partly migratory species with a wide-ranging distribution. Populations breeding around large inland lakes and the coastlines of northern-hemisphere continents (North America, Europe, Asia) are migratory. The northern American birds migrate southwards in winter, to the southern coasts of North America, the West Indies and northern South American coastlines. The European and Asian populations spend the winter along the tropical and subtropical coastlines of Africa, southern Asia and Arabia. The populations breeding in Africa and Australasia are resident or locally dispersive, but do not migrate. In Arabia Caspian Terns are mostly found as winter visitors, usually along the coastline. They are most comonly found along the northern coast, from Kuwait to eastern Oman, and along the Red Sea coast. Caspian Terns can be found above coastal waters, but also in tidal flats and inland, in the shallows of freshwater lakes, including ephemeral lakes and ephemeral wetlands.

Sightings Click here for sighting information We have not seen Caspian Terns in Oman yet, but in Australia and in Europe.

Photos

No photos from Oman yet, but Caspian Terns were photographed in Australia and in Europe.

Food, Diet

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

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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