This photo of an adult Caspian Tern and its salmon prey is about as good as it gets. If we assume the terns exposed culmen (top of the bill) is 7 cm then the fish must be at least 21 cm or 3 bill lengths. I would estimate the fish at closer to 24 cm given bend in the body. Salmon species are challenging to identify unless you have them in hand, but this fish is almost certainly a steelhead. The smokey dark tips to the tail are not diagnostic alone, but they are very often conspicuous in salmon smolt, especially steelhead.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
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