30 September 2024
Yesterday afternoon a black tern (Chlidonias niger) made Allegheny County’s Uncommon Fowl Alert when it was noticed on the primary pond at Imperial. Instantly I considered the black terns I’ve seen throughout spring migration on the Nice Lakes with beautiful black heads and bellies.
However black terns should not black presently of 12 months. I didn’t know this till we noticed them from the seashore at Chipiona, Spain on the WINGS Spain in Autumn tour.
Black terns dwell in each the New and Previous Worlds. The North American subspecies (C. n. surinamensis) spends the winter on the coasts of Central and South America. The Eurasian subspecies (C. n. niger) migrates throughout the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast to Africa.
They don’t appear to be “black” terns in non-breeding plumage. This group was filmed in January 2018, most likely in Africa.
