Greater Crested Tern

Thalasseus bergii (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823)

Greater Crested Tern, Thalasseus bergii, is a tern of the family Laridae that breeds along coasts and islands across Australasia, the Oriental Region and Africa, from south-west Africa and the North Indian Ocean through Indonesian and Australian waters to far southern Japan and eastern Polynesia. It is marked by darker upperparts, a white forehead even in breeding plumage, and a bill that is greenish-tinged yellow rather than orange or black. It also shows a shaggy black crest that becomes less obvious in winter.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Breeding range

Australasia, Oriental Region, Africa: coasts of sw Africa, North Indian Ocean and marginal seas, through Indonesian and Australian waters from far s Japan to e Polynesia