{"id":24916,"date":"2015-05-30T13:15:51","date_gmt":"2015-05-30T19:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?page_id=24916"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:16:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:16:03","slug":"terns-and-skimmers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/terns-and-skimmers\/","title":{"rendered":"Terns and Skimmers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Terns<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Terns and Skimmers<\/p>\n

Family: Laridae<\/em><\/p>\n

Terns and skimmers are known for their unique hunting techniques and stunning aerial acrobatics. With their long, slender wings and pointed bills, terns and skimmers are perfectly adapted for catching fish on the wing.<\/p>\n

In North America there are 18 species in 9 genera. Most species feed exclusively on fish captured while plunge-diving into the water. Skimmers capture their prey by snapping their lower mandible closed as it slices through the surface of the water.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i>Back to Birds<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Black<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>

Black Skimmer Images<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Resting<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>

Black Tern Images<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Caspian<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>

Caspian Tern Images<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Common<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>

Common Tern Images<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Forster's<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>

Forster’s Tern Images<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Least<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>

Least Tern Images<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Royal<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>

Royal Tern Images<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Sandwich<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>

Sandwich Tern Images<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113206,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-24916","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P11Mom-6tS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":129517,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/cuckoos\/","url_meta":{"origin":24916,"position":0},"title":"Cuckoos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Yellow-billed Cuckoo aka Rain Crow in Oklahoma, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Johnston County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/yellow-billed-cuckoo-adult-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4490.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/yellow-billed-cuckoo-adult-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4490.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/yellow-billed-cuckoo-adult-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4490.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/yellow-billed-cuckoo-adult-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4490.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":125961,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/items-for-sale\/","url_meta":{"origin":24916,"position":1},"title":"Items For Sale","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20335,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wildlife-galleries\/","url_meta":{"origin":24916,"position":2},"title":"Wildlife Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23129,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/antelope-island-state-park\/","url_meta":{"origin":24916,"position":3},"title":"Antelope Island State Park","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/antelope-island-state-park\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snow on Antelope Island, northern Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6408.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6408.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6408.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6408.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25640,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/fort-de-soto-county-park-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":24916,"position":4},"title":"Fort De Soto County Park Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Fort De Soto Sunrise January 1, 2009, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fort-de-soto-sky-way-mia-mcpherson-4087.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fort-de-soto-sky-way-mia-mcpherson-4087.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fort-de-soto-sky-way-mia-mcpherson-4087.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fort-de-soto-sky-way-mia-mcpherson-4087.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25015,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/unidentified-flycatcher-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":24916,"position":5},"title":"Unidentified Flycatcher Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}