Wildlifeof Sri Lanka
Sandwich Tern
Gulls, Terns & Skuas
Photo: Vsevolod Rudyi · CC BY 4.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Thalasseus sandvicensis
Basic stats
Diet
Fish, caught by plunge-diving
Range
Breeds in the Palearctic from Europe to the Caspian Sea; winters in the Mediterranean and on coasts of Africa, India and Sri Lanka
Clutch size
1-3 eggs
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 that shrinks in winter as the crown turns white. Young birds have grey and blackish scalloped plumage on the back and wings. It breeds in the Palearctic from Europe to the Caspian Sea and, according to Wikipedia, winters in the Mediterranean and on the coasts of Africa, India and Sri Lanka (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is vocal, nests in a ground scrape and lays one to three eggs. It feeds by plunge-diving for fish, and the male offers fish to the female as part of courtship. It has interbred with the elegant and lesser crested terns. The 2012 National Red List gives no status under this name.
Quick answers
- What does the Sandwich Tern eat?
- Fish, caught by plunge-diving
- Where is the Sandwich Tern found?
- Breeds in the Palearctic from Europe to the Caspian Sea; winters in the Mediterranean and on coasts of Africa, India and Sri Lanka
- How many eggs does the Sandwich Tern lay?
- 1-3 eggs