This record was submitted by Jared HJ Tan on 17 Oct 2022. All user submissions will be reviewed by the Records Committee. Entries listed here may be edited for brevity and clarity while the original record is left unchanged.
This record was submitted to the Records Committee for review.
The Records Committee began deliberating on this record.
The Records Committee completed its review and finalised its verdict.
| Species | Common Tern Sterna hirundo |
|---|---|
| Record ID | 10321 |
| Date | 16 Oct 2022 |
| Location | Singapore Strait |
| Count | 1 individual |
| Date added | 17 Oct 2022 |
| Vote results | For: 8 Wild: 8 |
|---|---|
| Verdict | Accepted / Wild (Verifiable) |
| Identification |
|---|
| This was during a sudden huge influx of terns, with many terns flying past one after another. This bird in question was flying past to the far right side of the boat, and may have plunged into the water to feed, but I cannot remember too clearly. I spammed a few shots of the bird before trying to quickly capture all the other terns flying past our boat. When checking back on my photos, it looked different from the other terns. Possibly non-breeding common tern/1CY common tern? Features: Black cap extending to nape with a bit of white on forehead. Dark reddish bill and legs. Dark tips on underside of primaries. Greyish upperwing. Deeply forked tail with tail streamers. Dark shoulders on upperwing (characteristic of 1CY common tern). Why not Whiskered tern: - Whiskered tern would have a short tail lacking the tail streamers. Why not Little tern: - The body of this bird in question seems longer, with a longer neck. Little tern seems to be more short-bodied with a shorter neck. - Breeding plumage little tern would show the tail streamers, but the bill would be yellow and the mask would be less extensive with an eyestripe. - Non-breeding little tern would show a less extensive mask, and also not show the tail streamers. Bill would be black as well. Why not Aleutian tern: - Black mask of this bird in question is too extensive. Breeding Aleutian tern would show a more extensive white forehead, and also black bill. Non-breeding Aleutian tern would show a mostly whitish crown with blackish ear-coverts and nape, and black bill. |
| Habitat/behaviour |
|---|
| Flying past on right side of the boat. Bird may have plunged into the water to feed, as seen from the posture of the bird in the Photo 1, and the fish in its mouth in the last few photos (Photo 3-5). Plunging steeply into the water is a characteristic of a common tern. |
| Viewing conditions |
|---|
| Cloudy, drizzling. |
| Observer's experience |
|---|
| No previous experience. |
| Observer's experience w/similar species |
|---|
| Familiar with whiskered and little terns. First time seeing Aleutian terns on this trip. |
Bird Society of Singapore. (2022). Record 10321: Common Tern Sterna hirundo. Retrieved May 12, 2025, from https://records.singaporebirds.com/record/10321/.