Whiskered Tern: bird of the week VIII

Another victim of whimsical naming, identifying the whiskered tern (Chlidonias hybrida) seemed impossible to me. I couldn’t see the whiskers at all. It turns out that in summer breeding plumage when its head turns black and its body becomes a dark ashy gray, a remaining white band across its face reminded some of human male facial fuzz. India is home to breeding populations of these terns, and also receives climate refugees from the north in winter. In principle I should have noticed the whiskers on the resident birds. But I do most of my birding in winter. So I’d missed the colour change that had just set in between my two visits to Mangalajodi. The featured photo is from early February, the one below from mid-March. You can see the darkening of the feathers. This will continue for another month, I think. It’s too hot to get go back and check.

There aren’t many places on WordPress where bird watchers can share posts. If you post any photos of birds this week (starting today and up to next Monday), it would be great if you could leave a link in the comments, or a pingback, for others to follow. There is no compulsion to post a recent photo, but it would help others to know when and where you saw the bird. You might consider using the tag “Bird of the Week” in case people search for old posts using it. I hope you’ve had the time to look at what others have added this week and in the previous weeks.

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