mdahlem.net WWW

Birds of Oman home   Bird names   News    Family groups 1-26    Tips   Glossary   Plumage   Thumbnails    General information    Credits    PHOTOS FOR SALE
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14	15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24    25    26    PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   R   S   T   V   W

10

Lesser Crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) Size: 33-40 cm; wing span 76-82 cm

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

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Lesser Crested Terns are medium-sized 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 orange; the short legs and feet are black. In eclipse the front of the cap becomes white, the back part forms a mottled black-and-white nape of the neck. Juvenile birds are mottled grey, with a white cap and a black nape of the neck. Twitcher's tip Compared to Greater Crested Terns, the Lesser Crested Tern is smaller and has an orange bill (rather than yellow).

Taxonomy, classification See Lesser Crested 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 Lesser Crested Tern is available HERE . There are three races of Lesser Crested Terns, which are a partly migratory species. Nominate race "bengalensis" breeds along the coastline of the northern Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. This race spends the northern winters in southern Africa. Race "emigrata", which breeds on islands off the north-western coastline of Africa, spends the winters farther South, in West Africa. Race "torresii", which populates parts of Indonesia and coastal northern Australia (on both sides of the Torres Strait, hence the name), is sedentary. In Arabia, Lesser Crested Terns, nominate race "bengalensis", are found mostly along the coastlines of the Red Sea and of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. They nest colonially on rocky shores or islands off the coast. Along the eastern coastline they are seen mostly on passage. Lesser Crested Terns are a coastal species. For breeding they have a preference for rocky terrain, often on offshore islands. Outside the breeding season they are often seen resting on sandy beaches.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "bengalensis" We spotted Lesser Crested Terns, nominate race "bengalensis", for the first time in Oman in May 2010, in Quriyyat, about 100 km East of Muscat. Race "torresii" Lesser Crested Terns, race "torresii", were spotted by us in Australia.

Photos

Race "bengalensis"

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Lesser Crested Terns (centre and, on the right, a bird in breeding plumage), together with a Crested Tern at the back and two White-cheeked Terns, which are the smaller birds
[Quriyyat, May 2010]

Lateral view of a Lesser Crested Tern in breeding plumage in flight
[Quriyyat, May 2010]

Lesser Crested Tern cruising in a bit of a breeze
[Batinah region, May 2010]

NON-BREEDING

Lateral view of two Lesser Crested Terns in non-breeding plumage; note the slightly downcurved orange bill (click on image to see them together with a Greater Crested Tern)
[Quriyyat, May 2010]

Four Lesser Crested Terns in non-breeding plumage (centre), together with a Common Tern
[Quriyyat, May 2010]

Six Lesser Crested Terns (orange bills), together with two Sandwich Terns (tall birds with dark bills) and two smaller White-cheeked Terns
[Quriyyat, May 2010]

Lesser Crested Terns (orange bills), together with several White-cheeked Terns (foreground), Crested Terns (yellow bills) and two Sandwich Terns on the right, with their dark bills
[Quriyyat, May 2010]

Near-dorsal view of an immature Lesser Crested Tern in flight
[Quriyyat, May 2010]

Different phase of the wingbeat
[Quriyyat, May 2010]

Lateral view of a Lesser Crested Tern preparing for landing
[Quriyyat, May 2010]

Race "torresii"

Lesser Crested Terns, race "torresii", were photographed by us in Australia.

Food, Diet

Like all terns, Lesser Crested 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.

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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

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, 9:28 +00:00