Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern, adult; breeding plumage; Florida; May

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Sandwich Tern, non-breeding adult (Def. Basic). Florida, November

Sandwich Tern, non-breeding adult. Florida.

Sandwich Tern, breeding adult in threat display (aggressive upright). Florida.

Sandwich Tern, adult; breeding plumage; Florida; May

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A bird of marine coasts of the southeastern United States and the Caribbean, the Sandwich Tern is readily identified by its shaggy crest and yellow-tipped black bill.

Description

Medium-sized tern. Long, thin black bill with pale yellow tip. Body white. Back pale gray. Elongated feathers on back of head make a slight shaggy crest. Black cap when breeding. Pale forehead in winter. Legs black.

• Size: 34-45 cm (13-18 in)
• Wingspan: 84-90 cm (33-35 in)
• Weight: 180-300 g (6.35-10.59 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Sound

A grating "kirr-ick."

Conservation Status

Major declines noted in Old and New World during nineteenth century, due mostly to millinery trade and egg collecting. Recent increases in population size noted in most of range.

Other Names

Sterne caugek (French)
Charrán de sandwich, Charrán patinegro, Charrán de Cabot, Gaviota de pico amarillo, Gaviota pico agudo, Gaviota piquiaguda, Golondrina-marina de Sandwich. (Spanish)
Cabot's Tern (English)

Cool Facts

• The two subspecies of Sandwich Tern breeding in North America and Eurasia have black bills with yellow tips. A third subspecies known at the "Cayenne Tern" is found in the southern Caribbean and the Atlantic Coast of South America. It has an all yellow bill.

Sources used to construct this page:

Shealer, D. 1999. Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis). In The Birds of North America, No. 405 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.