Sunday, April 5, 2009

Least Tern with fish in it's beak


Least Tern with fish in it's beak, originally uploaded by Alan.V.

The fish in the bill of this this Least Tern appears to be a juvenile bass (Micropterus sp.). I would guess Large-mouth bass (M. salmoides), but the fact that the spotting along the dorsal line is so heavily broken suggests a small mouth (M. dolomieui). If the bill length is close to the average of 28 mm (Birds of North America Online), then the fish is at least 60 cm or a little more than 2 bill lengths.

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