Birds of Singapore
by the Bird Society of Singapore
Thalasseus bergii
Family: Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls · Status: Common migrant · Size: 45–49 cm · Conservation: Least Concern
Occurs along coasts from Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, across the Indian Ocean, southern China, southern Japan, Southeast Asia, and Australasia.
Non-breeding adult has a distinctive long, thick, cold yellow bill, darkish grey upperparts, white face and forecrown, blackish hindcrown with whitish streaks, and blackish nape. Breeding adult has a bright yellow bill, black crown to nape with a shaggy crest, and white extreme forehead. Juvenile resembles non-breeding adult but has a duller bill and brownish feathers with whitish fringes on mantle and back.
Open seas, sea-coasts, mudflats, and sandflats; recorded at the Straits of Singapore, Changi, and Pulau Ubin.
Feeds mostly at sea by plunge-diving or by dipping from the surface; food is usually swallowed in mid-air.