Black Tern

Chlidonias niger

no photo — written note
photo: Wikimedia Commons
BirdsSensitive species

A dark marsh tern that hawks insects over cattails, now scarce in Indiana.

Field facts
HabitatLarge cattail marshes
RangeNorthern Indiana
When to lookMay to September
StatusState endangered in Indiana (Indiana DNR / IUCN Red List)
Look-alikesOther terns — all paler

Field note: It builds a floating nest anchored to marsh vegetation.

Lesson
Watching responsibly

Marsh nesting colonies are fragile; view from the dyke only.

This species is treated as sensitive: locations are generalised to county level and never routed to directly.

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