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Sandwich Tern
MPF, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Shorebirds, gulls & terns

Sandwich Tern

Thalasseus sandvicensis (Latham, 1787)

LC Least Concern

Names

EnglishSandwich Tern
DutchGrote Stern
SpanishCharrán de Sandwich
Chinese白嘴端凤头燕鸥
Scientific nameThalasseus sandvicensis (Latham, 1787)

About this species

The Sandwich tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis) is a tern in the family Laridae. It is very closely related to the lesser crested tern (T. bengalensis), Chinese crested tern (T. bernsteini), Cabot's tern (T. acuflavidus), and elegant tern (T. elegans) and has been known to interbreed with both elegant and lesser crested terns. It breeds in the Palearctic from Europe to the Caspian Sea, and winters in the Mediterranean and on the coasts of Africa, India, and Sri Lanka.

The Sandwich tern is a medium-large tern with pale silvery-grey upperparts, white underparts, a yellow-tipped black bill, and a shaggy black crest which becomes less extensive in winter with a white crown. Young birds bear grey and blackish scalloped plumage on their backs and wings. It is a vocal bird. It nests in a ground scrape and lays one to three eggs.

Like all Thalasseus terns, the Sandwich tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, usually in marine environments, and the offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyLaridae
GenusThalasseus

In Suriname

181Records in Suriname
2iNaturalist observations
1946First record
2024Latest record

Where it has been recorded

  • Commewijne58
  • Paramaribo12
  • Coronie10
  • Nickerie5
  • Marowijne2
  • Saramacca1

Districts with at least one record that has coordinates. Shaded districts have records.

Records by month

All years combined.

Sources & credits

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Related species in Suriname