Lesser Crested Tern

The lesser crested tern is a medium-large tern, 35 to 43 cm long with a wingspan of 88 to 105 cm, weighing 185 to 242 g. It breeds in subtropical coastal areas from the Red Sea across the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific and Australia, with a significant population on two islands off Libya in the Mediterranean. Australian birds are probably sedentary, while others migrate, wintering south to South Africa (Wikipedia, general species account).

Three subspecies are recognised, differing mainly in size and in how dark grey the upperparts are. It is an occasional vagrant to Europe, where it has bred in pure and mixed pairs with the Sandwich tern. The 2012 National Red List gives no status under this name.