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Sandwich Tern
(Thalasseus sandvicensis)
Size: 37-43 cm; wing span 85-97 cm
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Sandwich Terns are medium-sized terns.
During the
breeding season they have a black cap with a small crest,
a white front (throat, neck, chest, belly and vent) and light-grey
wings. The black eyes are surrounded by the black cap, while the
frons (base of the bill) is white. The pointy, long bill is black
with a yellow tip; the short legs and
feet are dark-grey.
In eclipse
the front of the cap becomes mottled black-and-white.
Juvenile
Sandwich Terns have "checkered" upperparts, i.e. their back
is mottled in various shades of grey. The head is grey.
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Twitcher's tip |
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Compared to White-cheeked
Terns, the Sandwich Tern is much bigger and has a greyish-yellow tip
on its bill.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Sandwich
Tern at Wikipedia  .
Click here for classification information
The Sandwich Tern is no longer considered to be conspecific with
Cabot's Tern (Thalasseus acuflavidus).
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Range, habitat |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based
on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to the
ebird.org
website.
The global distribution of the Sandwich Tern is available
HERE
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Sandwich Terns are a mostly migratory species.
The only resident population resides on the South shore of
the Caspian Sea. All other populations migrate.
Their Eurasian breeding range extends from the Bay of Biscaye
in the South along the European Atlantic and North Sea coast,
via western Europe (inluding the British Isles) to Denmark
and further East into the southern Baltic Sea. There are
breeding populations on the North coast of the Black Sea
and all around the Caspian Sea as well.
The migratory populations spend the northern winters anywhere
from the Mediterranean coastline (except the Cote d'Azur and
most of the major islands), the Balkans, Greece, the eastern
coastline of the Black Sea, along the western African coastline
all the way to Cape Hoorn or on the eastern Arabian coastline,
the Persian Gulf or the coastline of Iran or Pakistan. There
is a separate winter population on the southern tip of India
and in Sri Lanka.
There is also a large population in the Americas, who are
permanently present in various areas along the East coast of
North America, central America and South America. In the
northern summer they extend their breeding range along the
East coast of the US to about Cape Cod in the North.
Their wintering grounds span the entire length of the American
East coast, from South Carolina in the North down to Patagonia
in the South.
On the American West coast they are found only in the tropics,
from central Mexico in the North to Peru in the South.
In Arabia Sandwich Terns are found along the eastern and northern
coastline, from Aden, Yemen, in the South via the East coast of
Yemen and Oman and the northern coastline of Oman, the UAE and
Saudi Arabia to Kuwait.
Outside the breeding season Sandwich Terns are a strictly coastal
species that is usually seen either when resting on beaches or
while hunting in coastal waters.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
We first spotted Sandwich Terns in Oman in the area of Quriyyat,
about 100 km East of Muscat, in May 2010. Later in the same month
the species was also seen on beaches about 100 km West of Muscat,
e.g. at Ras Al-Sawadi.
We have also found a Sandwich Tern in
Europe.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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BREEDING |
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Sandwich Terns, foreground, with an adult Sooty Gull at the back;
the bird with the black cap at the centre is in breeding
plumage,
the two Sandwich Terns with white foreheads are adults in
non-breeding plumage
(note the distinctive grey tip of the bill)
[Quriyyat, May 2010]
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NON-BREEDING |
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Lateral view of a Sandwich Tern in non-breeding plumage in flight
[Ras Al-Sawadi, Batinah region, May 2010]
Lateral view of a Sandwich Tern in non-breeding plumage in flight
[Ras Al-Sawadi, Batinah region, May 2010]
Near-dorsal view of a Sandwich Tern in non-breeding plumage in flight
[Quriyyat, May 2010]
Six Lesser
Crested Terns (orange bills), together with two Sandwich Terns
(tall birds with dark bills) and two smaller White-cheeked Terns
[Quriyyat, May 2010]
Lesser Crested
Terns (orange bills), together with several
White-cheeked
Terns (foreground),
Greater Crested
Terns (yellow bills) and two Sandwich Terns on the right, with
their dark bills
[Quriyyat, May 2010]
More photos of Sandwich Terns were taken by us in
Europe.
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Food, Diet |
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Like all terns, Sandwich Terns feed on fish, which they catch
with their bills just under the surface of water in a steep
high-speed dive from considerable height.
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Call/s
