parrotkeen

I saw this guy flying around in Sai Kung Harbour. It circled for a while before it went to the deeper waters. It was smaller than the Whiskered and White-Winged Terns we saw in the same area, and it had a longer beak compared to the other two. I strongly suspect it is a Little Tern (Sternula Albifrons) but I may be proven wrong. Would anyone help me ID this tern, I'm not an excellent photographer.

60672127-880F-45C8-AB0D-3FBEAB7DBE65.JPG (19.76 KB)

14/05/2022 19:56

E3CE2F74-8472-4214-B4D0-CBEFAAF9ED8D.JPG (32.2 KB)

14/05/2022 19:56

orientalstork

maybe bn tern?

John Holmes

From the overall shape and darkness in the outer primaries, I agree with the original poster that this is a Little Tern.

The dark bill and black nape are features of non-breeding plumage.  Here’s a shot (taken 9th May 2022) which shows the shape from a similar angle, but this bird is in breeding plumage

[ Last edited by John Holmes at 16/05/2022 14:07 ]

parrotkeen

Thanks for answering! Little terns are one of my favorite terns in Hong Kong. It's a shame I couldn't take a good photo of it!