Coastal Carolina

Larus delawarensis HOW TO IDENTIFY: * Length: 16 inches Wingspan: 49 inches * Medium-sized gull * Fairly short, small bill with indistinct gonydeal angle Adult alternate: * Bright yellow bill with complete black ring at gonys * Bright yellow legs * Yellow eye * White head, neck, breast and belly * Pale gray back and upperwings * White tertial crescent * Black primaries with white tips and two white mirrors on outer primaries * White tail Adult basic: * Like adult alternate but thin dark streaks about head and duller soft parts Juvenile: * Black bill quickly developing pale base * Pale head, breast, back and belly with light brown scalloping * Dark upperwing coverts with wide white edgings * Pale belly * Dark outer primaries * Dark terminal band on white tail First-year: * Pink bill with black tip * Pink or gray legs * White head, neck and upper breast streaked with brown * Pale gray back * Upperwing coverts dull brown * Pale gray secondaries * Black primaries * Dark terminal band on white tail Second-year: * Like adult basic but often with black-tipped yellow bill, entirely dark primaries and partial tail band Similar species: Adult Herring Gulls are similar to Ring-billed Gulls but are much larger, have pinkish legs, and a much thicker yellow bill with more pronounced gonys. First-winter Herring Gulls are much browner, but second and third-winter birds can be confusing since soft part colors are variable and third-year Herring Gull often show a ring around the bill. Such birds are most easily distinguished by the larger size and larger bill of Herring Gull. California Gulls are more similar in size and shape but are still larger and bigger-billed. Adults are darker-backed than Ring-billeds, with a brown eye, heavier head streaking, and a different bill pattern. Immatures are browner overall and show less contrast between the upperwing coverts and the secondaries. Adult Mew Gulls have unmarked bills, a darker gray back and are smaller. Juvenile Mew Gulls are much darker. First and second-winter Mew Gulls have a darker gray back and a daintier appearance. Common Black-headed and Bonaparte's Gulls are somewhat smaller in winter but have dark auriculars and very different wing markings in flight. Winter adult Black-legged Kittiwake has a plain yellow bill and entirely black wingtips.

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Sterna maxima HOW TO IDENTIFY: * Length: 18 inches Wingspan: 43 inches * Sexes similar * Dives into water for prey * Large tern with fairly thick orange bill * Fairly long, deeply forked tail * Spiky crest at the rear of the head * Pale underwing with dark tips to outer primaries * Takes three years to reach full adult plumage Adult alternate: * Black legs * Black cap * White face, neck, breast, and belly * Pale gray back and upperwings * White rump and tail, often with dark edgings * Plumage held in Spring (March to May) Adult basic: * White forehead and crown * Black mask extends rearward from eye to spiky crest at rear of head * White eye ring in dark mask * Outer primaries and tail feathers darken with wear, becoming dark gray in basic plumage Juvenile: * Pale legs * White forehead and crown * Dark brown mask extending rearward from eye to spiky crest at rear of head * White neck, breast, and belly * Pale gray back * Dark brown carpal bar * Dark brown uppersurface to secondaries and outer primaries * Gray tail with dark margins Immature: * First-year birds generally have dark secondaries and outer primaries, and a slightly more extensive black mask * Second-year birds are generally very similar to adults in alternate plumage but often have darker primaries and secondaries and white tips to feathers in black cap Similar species: When identifying terns, it is safest to use a combination of field marks instead of relying on a single characteristic. Elegant Terns are slightly smaller and slenderer, with more slender, drooping bills and, when not in alternate plumage, lack a pale eyering in the dark mask. The Caspian can be separated from the Royal by its thicker, reddish bill, dark wedge on the outer portion of the underwing, its more shallowly-forked tail and its tendency to have an almost complete cap in basic and immature plumages. The smaller Sterna terns have slimmer, black or black-tipped bills, slimmer bodies and wings and a much more deeply-forked tail.

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