Gould recalled that in many visits during the previous forty years to the Thames in May, he had seldom missed seeing the Black Tern 'hawking over the reaches in the neighbourhood of Maidenhead, Cookham and Marlow.' The terns stayed only a short time, appearing one day at Henley, and the next at Maidenhead or Windsor during their flight eastwards from the Bristol Channel to the Nore and the eastern coast.

The adult male and female are depicted in summer plumage, with a young bird in juvenile plumage flying overhead.

DISTRIBUTION: Breeds in western Eurasia and in central North America. Winters in tropical Africa and in Americas from Panama south to Peru and east to Surinam. In Britain ceased to breed around middle of nineteenth century, though erratic attempts since; bred successfully 1975