Forster’s Tern

What bird is named after a famous naturalist ? It is the Forster’s Tern. Johann Reinhold Forster was a naturalist who voyaged with Captain Cook’s 2nd trip to the Pacific. Forster drew or cataloged 500 plants and about 300 animals.

Appearance

I saw this bird on the New Jersey shore area. Adults have a black cap and a black tipped orange bill. Their underside is while, while the wings may have gray coloring on top. It is in between a robin and a crow in size.

Habitat

This tern can be in fresh water or salt water. It can be seen in marshes, bays and oceans. The map on All About Birds has the NJ coast as its breeding grounds. It goes further south to the lower US and the Central American coast in winter.

Hunting

According to All About Birds this tern gets food by scanning for food over the water, about 20 feet above it, then dives in to capture their prey with their bill. Many times they stick close to the shoreline or close to it. Their dive is shallow up to about a foot below the surface. This is exactly what I saw. The road we could view from was maybe 20 feet or more from the water’s edge. Many times it was flying close to if not above the shoreline. I could not capture it diving in as plants obscured my view. Regardless, these birds were fun to watch.

Have a great weekend! Be safe!