Sooty Tern Photo Gallery

Breeding adult

A medium-sized, fork-tailed tern with white underparts, black upperparts, and a white forehead. In flight, white underwing linings contrast with black flight feathers.

Breeding adult

Breeds on remote atolls and cays in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

Adult

A medium-sized tern that breeds on remote tropical and subtropical islands in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Adult is white below and black above, with a white forehead.

Juvenile

Juvenile is blackish overall, with whitish spots on the wings and back.

Breeding adult

White forehead ends just above the front of the eye, helping to distinguish this species from the similar Bridled Tern.

Adult

In flight, note strongly forked tail and black flight feathers contrasting with white underwing linings.

Breeding adult

In flight, note forked black tail with white outermost tail feathers.

Juvenile

Juvenile is blackish overall, with whitish spots on the wings and back.

Breeding colony

Nests in large colonies that may include up to a million pairs.

Breeding adult

A striking tern with boldly contrasting black upperparts and white underparts, a white forehead, black legs, and a black bill.

Juvenile

Young birds remain at sea for several years—without coming to land—until their first breeding attempts at 4–10 years of age.

Habitat

Usually breeds in large colonies with thousands of (and occasionally up to a million) pairs. Lays a single egg directly on bare sand or rock, in either a shallow scrape or no nest at all.