Forster's Tern – Diving for fishSterna forsteri January – Texas L=13” ...... WS=31” ...... WT=6 oz Order: Charadriiformes (Shorebirds, Gulls, Auks, Allies) Family: Laridae (Gulls, Terns, Allies) Forster’s Terns forage by flying over water and then either plunging directly into the water or hovering briefly before plunging. Typically only their bill and head goes into the water but sometimes their entire body will be submerged. So long as the fish caught is small it will be eaten as soon as the bird regains foraging height, about 25 feet above the water.
Ring-billed Gull – Ring-billed Gull (left) chasing Forster's Tern for fishLarus delawarensis November – Texas L=17.5”...... WS=48”...... WT=1.1 lb Order: Charadriiformes (Shorebirds, Gulls, Auks, Allies) Family: Laridae (Gulls, Terns, Allies) Some birds, such as jaegers, regularly practice kleptoparasitism, a foraging strategy that consists of stealing food from other birds. Typically the aggressor will chase the victim until the victim drops the prey. In this case a Ring-billed Gull (left) was chasing a Forster’s Tern. The chase lasted 1 to 2 minutes at which time the Ring-billed Gull gave up and let the Forster’s Tern eat its catch.
