The Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida) is a small buoyant 'marsh' tern in the family Laridae that superficially resembles the Common Tern, but is stockier and with a less forked tail. The breeding adult has a distinctive dark smoky gray body & contrasting white cheeks (which can look like broad white "whiskers" in flight) underneath a black cap. The non-breeding plumage is a pale silvery gray overall with a faded shadow of the cap. Note the rather stout bill (albeit thinner than Gull-billed Tern) and square tail. It feeds by picking from the surface, not splash-diving like typical terns. Common around wetlands, lakes, and rivers.

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The Loyang Rock is a traditional nesting site for the rare Black-naped Terns (Sterna sumatrana),an oceanic tern, which arrive in March. These birds start roosting on the rock between April to August, before leaving for the South China Sea after. They have a habit of following passing large ships en masse. When a vessel approaches, a great number would shadow the stern. They appear to be attracted to the wake stirred up by the ship’s passing. Could it be that the movement of the large ship forces up benthic or other marine organisms to the surface, thus giving the terns, which do not dive very deeply, easy pickings?

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