White-winged Tern

1. Black head, neck, and underparts with white rump and wings in breeding season

2. Non-breeding birds show pale plumage with black "earmuffs" and white forehead

3. Juveniles have a blackish-brown back and silver-grey wings with a square tail

White-winged Terns breed in the Northern Hemisphere from central Europe to eastern Asia, nesting in small colonies on floating vegetation in freshwater marshes. They lay 2–4 eggs per clutch, and both parents share incubation duties, which last about 20 days. Chicks fledge after around 24 days. In Australia, they are present only in the non-breeding season and do not breed locally. Their feeding style is buoyant and agile, picking insects and small fish from the water’s surface or catching flying insects mid-air, rarely plunge-diving like sea terns.

White-winged Terns are widespread visitors to Australia, especially in the north and east, from September to April. They are most often found over freshwater marshes, lakes, swamps, and flooded grasslands, but may also be seen in rice fields, estuaries, and coastal lagoons during migration and winter. In Australia, look for them over ephemeral wetlands and agricultural areas after seasonal rains, where they often gather in large flocks.