A medium-sized tern with broader wings and a thicker bill than most other terns, the Gull-billed Tern is found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States and very southern California.
Unlike most terns, the Gull-billed Tern has a broad diet and does not depend on fish. Instead it commonly feeds on insects, small crabs, and other prey snatched from the ground, air, or even bushes. It is also known to eat small chicks of other tern species.
Although mostly restricted to salt water habitats in North America, the Gull-billed Tern is found in a variety of fresh water habitats across Eurasia.
The oldest recorded Gull-billed Tern lived to be at least 20 years old and was found, and banded, in California.
Terns
