Caspian Tern, Hydroprogne caspia

Caspian Tern, Hydroprogne caspia. Photograph taken in Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur.

Caspian Tern, Hydroprogne caspia. Bird photographed in the wild in the Los Cabos area of Baja California Sur, December 2019. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

Caspian Tern, Hydroprogne caspia. Photograph taken in the coastal area of Yavaros, Sonora, December 2018. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

The Caspian Tern, Hydroprogne caspia, is a member is a member of the Laridae Family of Gulls, Terns and Skimmers. They are mid-sized in stature. In Mexico they are winter visitors to all coastal areas of both the Atlantic and the Pacific Slopes. From a conservation perspective the Caspian Tern is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are found along the coastal lagoons, estuaries and barrier islands on sandbars, mudflats and shell banks but also on large inland freshwater lakes and reservoirs. Their diet consists primarily or exclusively of fish, supplemented with minor levels with crayfish and insects.