Black-naped Tern

The black-naped tern is an oceanic tern of tropical and subtropical areas of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific, rarely found inland. It is named for the black band that starts at the eyes, joins behind the head and runs down the back of the neck. The rest of the plumage is white with pale silvery-grey wings and mantle, the deeply forked tail extends beyond the wingtips on perched birds, and the bill and legs are black. It is 30 to 35 cm long with a wingspan of 66 cm and weighs 97 to 120 g (Wikipedia, general species account).

It hunts by diving, partly breaching the surface and carrying its prey horizontally in the bill. Most hunt alone at sea but feed closer to shore when feeding nestlings and mates. Two subspecies are recognised.