Smallest North American tern, with a yellow bill and white forehead. In flight, note pointed wings and black outer edge on the primaries.
Smallest tern in North America. Thin yellow bill and yellow legs during the breeding season help separate it from similar species.
Very small, neatly marked tern with white forehead and yellow bill (often with black tip).
Small with narrow, pointed wings. Breeding birds have a black crown and a white forehead. In flight, note black edge on outer flight feathers.
Immature birds have a small smudgy black patch behind the eye and a dark bill unlike adults, but they still have yellow legs.
Very small tern. Juveniles have a barred or scaly looking back and yellow legs. The crown patch on this bird is small and smudgy brown; others can have a darker black partial crown.
Click on an image to compare
A distinctive, very small seabird, slim in all proportions, with long, narrow wings, trim body, and slender, sharp bill.
Larger than a Tree Swallow, smaller than a Forster's Tern.
between robin and crowFive very similar-looking subspecies have been described. The widespread antillarum breeds from Maine to Venezuela. California Least Tern (browni) breeds in California and Baja California. Interior Least Tern (athalassos) breeds in inland North America, primarily along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Two less well-known subspecies, mexicana and staebleri, occur from the Gulf of California to Chiapas, Mexico.
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers(Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Laridae)
Need Bird ID Help? Try Merlin
The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds,
birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.
