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- Onychoprion fuscata
Sterna fuscatus
Identification
33-36 cm. The wings and deeply forked tail are long, and it has dark grey upperparts and white underparts. It has black legs and bill. Juvenile Sooty Terns are scaly grey above and below.
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.
Distribution
Tropical (and sometimes subtropical) oceans all around the globe.
Taxonomy
Eight subspecies are recognized. 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.
Habitat
Open sea, but they breed in colonies on rocky or coral islands.
Behaviour
It nests in a ground scrape or hole and lays 1-3 eggs. It rarely comes to land except to breed, and can stay out to sea (either soaring or floating on the water) for between 3 to 10 years.
It feeds by picking fish from the sea surface.
References
- Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
