Black Tern

Okay, so black terns may not be the most colorful of birds, but they are striking in their own way; this particular black tern is a molting adult (black and white pattern). They are quite agile as they quickly veer in different directions as they go after insects (or small fish) in freshwater wetlands with dense marshes and shallow lakes during the summer in our neck of the woods (McHenry County in northern Illinois) . The black tern is in decline as the species has lost about half of its North American population. (source: The Cornell Lab)