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Photo by glendak2
Port Aransas, Texas, August 2003

Onychoprion fuscatus

Sterna fuscata

[edit] Identification

33-36 cm

• Dark grey upperparts
• White underparts
• Long, forked tail
• Long wings
• Black legs and bill
  

Juveniles have scaly grey plumage

[edit] Similar Species

Bridled Tern differs in having upper back contrastingly paler than rear head. Notice that winter Sooty Tern becomes more Bridled Tern-like in winter.

[edit] Distribution

Tropical (and sometimes subtropical) oceans all around the globe.

[edit] Taxonomy

Sooty Tern, Bridled Tern, Gray-backed Tern and Aleutian Tern are each others closest relatives and all four are sometimes included in the genus Sterna.

[edit] Subspecies

Eight subspecies are recognized^[1]:

• O. f. fuscatus:

• Gulf of Mexico, eastern Mexico and West Indies; Gulf of Guinea islands

• O. f. nubilosus:

• Southern Red Sea and Indian Ocean to Ryukyu Island and Philippines

• O. f. infuscatus:

• Central Indonesia

• O. f. serratus:

• New Guinea, Australia and New Caledonia

• O. f. kermadeci:

• Kermadec Islands

• O. f. oahuensis:

• Bonin Islands to Hawaii and South Pacific islands

• O. f. crissalis:

• Islands off western Mexico and Central America to Galapagos Islands

• O. f. luctuosus:

• Juan Fernández Islands (off Chile)

[edit] Habitat

Open sea, but they breed in colonies on rocky or coral islands. They are rarely seen on land, apart from when breeding.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

The nest is a ground scrape or hole. The clutch consists of 1-3 eggs.

[edit] Diet

It feeds by picking fish from the sea surface.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. Wikipedia

• List of references

[edit] External Links