Gull Billed Tern
About the Gull-billed Tern
The Gull-billed Tern is common in grassy fields and marshes on Mustang Island. This is a fairly large and powerful tern, similar in size and general appearance to a Sandwich Tern, but the short thick gull-like bill, broad wings, long legs, and robust body are distinctive. The summer adult has grey upperparts, white underparts, a black cap, a strong black bill, and black legs. In winter, the cap is lost and there is a dark patch through the eye like a Forster’s Tern. In addition to the usual Tern diet of fish and crustaceans, the Gull-billed Tern catches insects in flight or on the ground.