Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensis
Coastal shores. White body apart from black cap, pale grey back and wings; long, slender black bill with yellow tip.
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Common summer visitor. Much larger than [Common Tern], its back paler than other similar-sized terns. Differs from [Gull-billed Tern] in much slimmer appearance and long, thin bill, which is black with a yellow tip. Call is a loud ‘kweet’. Occurs in small groups along the coast; feeds just offshore and rests on beaches.
Quick Facts
Size
40 cm - M
Names
A: Grootsterretjie
Z: unonkliyo
Ss: Lepheulane Le Leholo
G: Brandseeschwalbe
Bird Family
More slender, more agile than gulls and, in most species, with deeply forked tails. The majority feed at sea, plunge-diving for fish. A few, such as the marsh terns, feed mainly on insects caught in dipping flight or plucked from the surface of inland ponds, lakes and rivers. Calls are mostly similar and rather nondescript, typically ‘kee-vit' or ‘krit'.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Occurs in small groups along the coast; feeds just offshore and rests on beaches.
