Terns
Terns (Sternidae)
Small to medium birds, mostly smaller and slimmer than most of the gulls. There are two main groups, the ‘sea’ terns (not always strictly marine), which look pale grey and white except for a black cap in summer, have long tail streamers and dive to catch fish, and the ‘marsh terns’, which are blunt-tailed, almost black underneath in summer, and dip to pick their food from the surface without diving. All are migratory, often seen outside their breeding areas in spring and autumn, but absent from Europe in winter.
Small to medium birds, mostly smaller and slimmer than most of the gulls. There are two main groups, the ‘sea’ terns (not always strictly marine), which look pale grey and white except for a black cap in summer, have long tail streamers and dive to catch fish, and the ‘marsh terns’, which are blunt-tailed, almost black underneath in summer, and dip to pick their food from the surface without diving. All are migratory, often seen outside their breeding areas in spring and autumn, but absent from Europe in winter.
