Australia’s largest tern, the Caspian Tern is easily identified by its large, bright-red, dagger-like bill. They have also been recorded feeding on crickets and marine worms caught by probing in soft mud and wading in shallow water. Fish are caught by plunge-diving and usually swallowed in flight. Noted for its long adolescence, with the young dependent on their parents for many months; even in late winter, many an adult Caspian is trailed by a begging youngster from the previous nesting season. It often forages on both freshwater lakes and sea. Only 4 BBS routes in Texas sample these terns at relative abundances <3 terns per route, inadequate for a biologically meaningful trend. They forage by plunge-diving into the water from heights of up to 15 metres, grabbing a fish with that massive beak. Caspian Terns are able to take larger fish than any other Australian tern. It feeds mainly on fish caught by diving after hovering over water and then plunging.
The Caspian Tern is the world’s largest tern, even larger than many gulls. They usually feed by shallow plunging; hovering up to 15 m above the water with bill pointing down, before folding wings in and diving, fully submerged, to quickly re-emerge. Cosmopolitan, nesting on five continents.
The Caspian Tern is an uncommon migrant in Tennessee, more frequently seen in the fall, and occasionally seen in large flocks of 100 or more individuals. The largest of the terns, larger than many gulls. In North America, it is common along both coasts and locally inland, mainly around large bodies of water.
This species occurs on five continents where it breeds around large lakes and seacoasts. Caspian Tern Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology As large as a big gull, the Caspian Tern is the largest tern in the world.
Caspian terns feed mostly on small surface-swimming fish such as yellow-eyed mullet, piper, and smelt. Most feeding activity is in the early to mid-morning. Caspian Terns feed almost entirely on fish. The breeding and summer symbols along the coast on Oberholser’s (1974) map match the TBBA map. Caspian Terns are common residents along the Gulf Coast of Texas (Lockwood and Freeman 2004). Its large coral red bill makes it one of the most easily identified terns throughout its worldwide range.
Description: This large, gull-like tern has a black cap, and a large, thick, black-tipped red bill. They usually swallow fish in flight, head first.