Sandwich Tern

About the Sandwich Tern

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.

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name

Thalasseus sandvicensis

Family

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

Order

Charadriiformes

Similar species

Other members of the gulls, terns, and skimmers family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

• Aleutian Tern Onychoprion aleuticus
• American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus
• Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea
• Belcher's Gull Larus belcheri
• Black Noddy Anous minutus
• Black Skimmer Rynchops niger
• Black Tern Chlidonias niger
• Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus
• Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla
• Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris
• Blue-billed White-Tern Gygis candida
• Blue-gray Noddy Anous ceruleus