The Story
I photographed this Yellow-billed Tern (Sternula superciliaris) from the Ferry Marcopolo on the Orteguaza River at Puerto Arango, near Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2020. This small tern lives across most of South America and in Panama. It often nests alongside Large-billed Terns and Black Skimmers, in shallow scrapes in the sand set close together. Terns defend their nests fiercely, and Sand-colored Nighthawks sometimes nest among them for that protection. It feeds by hovering and picking fish from the surface. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200, −1 EV. Florencia, the capital of Caquetá, is known as the golden gateway to the Colombian Amazon and was founded on December 25, 1902.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Yellow-billed Tern (Sternula superciliaris) belongs to the family Laridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List