THOSE WHITE AND GRAY BIRDS THAT HANG AROUND PONDS

ARE ALL THE SAME, RIGHT? OH NO! GULLS ARE NOT TERNS!

 

By Neil Stalter

Beginning birders suffer many confusions. Identifying different species has challenges, especially when they have the same colors and live in the same habitats. Among the toughest tests comes when telling the difference between Gulls and Terns.

At first sighting, both are white with black or gray trimmings. Both are common around freshwater lakes and ponds as well as the ocean. Although members of each family can vary in size, most gulls and terns measure in the 15” to 25” range for length. They both nest in colonies on sandy beaches or in marshy fields. All are year-round

There the similarities end. Terns are always sleeker and wear a black cap. Gulls come a bit bulkier. They have roundish wings while Terns have pointed, angled wings. As they hunt for fish, Gulls float on water much like ducks. Terns dive like hawks as they seek out prey. Terns eat only fish and aquatic animals; Gulls have a wide appetite that includes crackers, biscuits, beach debris and even garbage.

Once upon a birdwalk in the famous Brigantine preserve on the Jersey coast, we encountered a guide who could not hide his disdain for Gulls. While describing the Terns as the daring divers of the bird world, he referred to a flock of Terns as a “cotillion.“  But, he eschewed the normal designation for a “colony” of gulls, rather calling it a “waste” of gulls!

Like their bodies, Gulls’ bills are rounded and come in mostly yellow and black. Terns have a trim, princely look and their bills are always bright orange. Gulls have raspy calls and are generally noisier. Terns are quieter with higher-pitched short calls.

In the Vero Beach area, three different species of both Gulls and Terns can be easily spotted. First, they separate by size in a clear ladder of lengths. There is the Laughing Gull at 15” then the Ring-billed Gull at 19” and the Herring Gull at 25”. The Terns range from the Least Tern at 9” to Forster’s Tern at 15” and finally the Royal Tern at 20”. All six species usually make the count on our Audubon birdwalks. (Another tern-like bird, the Black Skimmer, abounds on the ocean beaches and sometimes strays to our Grand Harbor ponds.)

 

 

The mostly white Laughing Gull sports a black head “hood” during summer breeding, but loses most of it in winter. This is the super-gregarious, yackety-yack caller of the tribe. The Ring-billed Gull, our most common, is white and gray with a black circle on it beak and black band on its tail; back of its head and nape are speckled in winter. The Herring Gull, not so common inland but a major ocean species, closely resembles the Ring-billed but, alas, has an all-yellow beak with no ring.

The Least Tern at 9” is the smallest of North American Terns. It makes the endangered list in parts of its range because it serves as a favorite prey for cats and snakes. To watch it hover then dive quickly can be a treat. Forster’s Tern is our most common and perhaps ranks #1 around the world.  It is named for the German naturalist who traveled around the world with Captain Cook in 1772. Finally, we have the majestic Royal Tern who prefers to stand on dry ground in groups of 10-15 before taking to the skies then diving for food. Their dives can be from 40-50 feet – made to look all the more spectacular by their big rakish black cap.

Last word: never let a lifetime birder hear you call a Gull by the casual name “seagull.” It is to be avoided lest one incur derision.