fishman
Veteran Member
I'm going to have to disagree with the majority opinion here. It sounds like a member of the tern family to me. Kingfishers are rarely seen in groups of more than two whereas terns are gregarious. Terns and killdeers look very similar and, in fact, use similar nesting habitats (sandy beaches). This site lists three species of terns in Texas, the gull-billed tern, the interior least tern, and the sandwich tern. Here is a photograph of the interior least tern along with it's range in Texas.
Most tern's feed by hovering in one place over water, then diving headfirst into the water to capture small fish, like minnows. This is similar to kingfishers. They are very entertaining to watch, particularly in large groups. Here is another reference on least terns that is very informative.
It is likely that what you saw are interior least terns. The gull-billed tern does not feed in the same manner as other terns (as described above) and the sandwich tern is differently colored than what you describe.
Most tern's feed by hovering in one place over water, then diving headfirst into the water to capture small fish, like minnows. This is similar to kingfishers. They are very entertaining to watch, particularly in large groups. Here is another reference on least terns that is very informative.
It is likely that what you saw are interior least terns. The gull-billed tern does not feed in the same manner as other terns (as described above) and the sandwich tern is differently colored than what you describe.