Common Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
(aka Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica)
Gull-billed Tern, Cayo Coco, Cuba, February 2005 - click on image for a larger view Cayo Coco, Cuba
February 2005

The Common Gull-billed Tern is fairly cosmopolitan and breeds on all continents except Antarctica. European and North American populations migrate south during the northern winter and some North American birds winter in the West Indies and northern South America. It is found on beaches, salt-marshes, lakes, and grasslands.

The bill is black and is thicker and blunter than that found on most terns. It is pale grey above and white below. In breeding plumage the crown is all black but in non-breeding, as seen in this photo, the crown is white and there is a dark smudge through and behind the eye.
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