Attachment:
Tern.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document
I posted photos of this tern a year ago or so on Frontiers. Since then Owen Schmidt has done as much research as possible from Oregon regarding the identification of "Portlandica" Aleutian Terns, including getting help from the museum that has the specimens of the birds that were collected off The Philippines. The purpose of this post is to ask what is wrong with the possible field marks that Owen has cited. Neither of us has seen every photo or specimen of Common or Arctic Tern, so it wouldn't shock me if some or all of the "diagnostic marks" mentioned are in fact not diagnostic. So … help us by showing photos of birds that disprove the usefulness of the marks mentioned in the attachment. Thanks for any efforts made. Jeff Gilligan Oregon, USA
