Tern sea terns have light grey or white body plumage as adults, with a black cap to the head. The legs and bill are various combinations of red, orange, yellow, or black depending on species. The pale plumage is conspicuous from a distance at sea, and may attract other birds to a good feeding area for these fish-eating species. When seen against the sky, the white underparts also help to hide the hunting bird from its intended prey. The Inca tern has mainly dark plumage, and three species that mainly eat insects, the black tern, white-winged tern, and black-bellied tern, have
Common tern long bill and faster, stiffer wingbeats are also characteristic. It feeds further out to sea than the common tern. In North America, the Forster's tern in breeding plumage is obviously larger than the common, with relatively short wings, a heavy head and thick bill, and long, strong legs; in all non-breeding plumages, its white head and dark eye patch make the American species unmistakable. In the wintering regions, there are also confusion species, including the Antarctic tern of the southern oceans, the South American tern, the Australasian white-fronted tern and the white-cheeked tern of the Indian Ocean. Identification may be