Rare Bird - White-winged Tern

We had another rare bird sighting in the northern parish of St. Lucy over the weekend.  It was a juvenile White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) at the North Point.   This is a small tern about 7.9 - 10.6 inches (20 - 27 cm) in length with a wingspan of about 25 -27 inches” (63-67 cm).  The breeding plumage of this bird species is simply stunning - a black head, neck, uppers, and underparts, whereas the tail and wings are pale to white in color.

The non-breeding and the juvenile plumages, like this one, are not as dramatic – palish to white upper and underparts, reddish legs, with a dark helmet-like crown that extends like earmuffs behind the eyes.

This Eurasian species breeds from southeast Europe to Central Asia also in the Russian Far East, but winters in southern and central Africa, and from India to northern Australia.  White-winged Terns though rare, are no strangers to the island with five birds recorded up to 2008, follow by sightings in 2013, 2015, and 2019 (The Birds of Barbados – P.A. Buckley, Edward Massiah, et al). 

With rare birds popping up across the region, this may not be our last mega for the year so stay tuned.