Tony White and Carol mentioned that they had seen a pair of Sandwich Terns wound and nearly kill another bird at Cemlyn this morning. I went down to look for a Black Tern this evening, unsuccessfully, but did see the injured bird. The blood on its breast is clearly visible.
When watching the bird, I noticed that the black hood/crest: a) comes down a lot further down the nape and b) ends horizontally rather than in a V effect which is visible on Sandwich Terns.
Is this a hybrid? Sandwich v Common possibly? Bill and legs look like Sandwich, but hopefully you will see the difference in the hood/crest. Bird did move around a bit and don't think this is a posture issue. Scanned rest of the Sandwich Terns and nothing similar.
Perhaps the actions of the Sandwich Terns reflect the fact they knew there was something different about this bird. Thoughts?
Head position can make a huge difference to perceived size/shape of cap/crest. Interesting...
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