This is Oregon's smallest breeding tern, with black head and body and gray wings during the breeding season. Black terns are delicate, graceful fliers, reminiscent of a nighthawk or swallow.

The Black tern breeds in marsh wetland complexes of southeast, south central and central Oregon. In western Oregon, a very small breeding population is found at a few sites in the Willamette Valley.

Hear the call of the Black tern

Photo by Bob, Flickr