Black Tern - Chlidonias niger

The timing of our Texas birding trip in early April preceded the peak of spring migration for the songbirds and others, but we did get to see a strong pulse of Black Terns passing through, with many present at both Rollover Pass and Bolivar Flats. Most birds we saw were in the middle of their pre-alternate molt, presenting interesting mixtures of black and white. This one apparently has a long way to go....

The birds at Bolivar Flats (a sanctuary managed by Houston Audubon) were pretty oblivious to our presence, so we had prolonged opportunity for viewing. This second bird has developed more black, but still far from the beautiful sleek finery it will obtain over the next month.

The Black Tern is a small tern, less that 10" long including those long wings. Compare to the Least Tern, 9" long. Overcast sky added to the pleasing monochromatic composition. 

Last shot shows one of the birds stretching. The black "band" is simply the tips of the secondaries on the trailing edge of the right wing. 

All birds we saw were simply resting on the beach or shoreline. Our only previous experience with the Black Tern was on a Rich Stallcup outing to Moonglow Dairy about 10 years ago, where we watched several of them flying like swallows over a marshy area and deftly snatching insects from the water's surface.