Sooty Tern
Onychoprion fuscatus
The Sooty Tern (Onychoprion fuscatus) is a uncommon skimmers, noddies, terns, and gull found in 97 countries, weighing about 186 g. The sooty tern is a tern in the family Laridae.
About the Sooty Tern
The sooty tern is a tern in the family Laridae. It is a seabird of the tropical oceans and can fly for years at a time, skimming the sea surface for food, and returning to land only to breed, on islands throughout the equatorial zone.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
It is a medium-large tern, similar in size to the Sandwich tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis) at 36–45 cm (14–17.5 in) long with an 82–94 cm (32.5–37 in) wingspan. The wings and tail are long, and it has black to dark blackish-brown upperparts and white underparts, and a white forehead. The tail is moderately deeply forked (more deeply forked than in Thalasseus terns, but less deeply than most Sterna terns), black, with white outer edges. It has black legs and bill. The average life span is 32 years.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in United Kingdom, France, Canada, Guatemala, Sweden, Barbados, Honduras, St. Martin, Djibouti, Spain, Guam, Wallis & Futuna.
When to see it
The Sooty Tern can be seen all year round, with peak activity in November. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Sooty Tern?
- It is a medium-large tern, similar in size to the Sandwich tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis) at 36–45 cm (14–17.5 in) long with an 82–94 cm (32.5–37 in) wingspan. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Sooty Tern?
- The Sooty Tern is a medium sized bird weighing about 186 g.
- Where can you see a Sooty Tern?
- The Sooty Tern occurs in 97 countries, including the United States, Australia, Taiwan, Guadeloupe and Mexico.
- What birds look similar to a Sooty Tern?
- The Sooty Tern is most easily confused with the Bridled Tern, the Aleutian Tern and the Spectacled Tern.
- Is the Sooty Tern endangered?
- The Sooty Tern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Sooty Tern for real
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