Whiskered Tern

1. Black cap with white “whiskered” cheeks and slate-grey underparts in breeding season

2. Bright red bill and legs during breeding; bill is stout, tail only slightly forked

3. Juveniles are mottled brown and pale grey, with a white-flecked crown

These terns nest in loose colonies, building simple floating rafts from plant stems and rushes, anchored among reeds or on floating vegetation. Breeding season varies depending on region, seasonal rainfall and wetland availability. But mostly occurs September-December in South East and February-April in tropical North. Both parents share nest-building, incubation, and chick-rearing duties. Typically, a clutch contains 2–3 eggs, which are camouflaged with speckles. Incubation lasts about three weeks, and both parents incubate the eggs and care for the chicks. Their diet mainly includes insects, small fish, amphibians, and crustaceans, which they catch by dipping or skimming the water’s surface, as well as by hawking insects in flight.

Whiskered Terns are widespread across Australia’s mainland, especially in the southeast, but are rare in Tasmania and the arid interior. They inhabit shallow freshwater wetlands, swamps, brackish and saline lakes, sewage farms, irrigated croplands, and even flooded agricultural fields. Look for them in areas with abundant emergent vegetation, such as water lilies and reeds, where they often forage and breed.