Class:
Aves
Family:
Laridae
Common Name:
Sandwich Tern
Genus:
Thalasseus
Species Name:
sandvicensis
About The Sandwich Tern
Sandwich terns are easy to recognize by their funny black crest. They are built for life along the coast. With their long slender wings, they can hover perfectly above the waves as they hunt for fish. Sandwich terns are very social birds. They like to nest together in large groups. They even like having other tern species and gulls around. The more birds, the better the protection from predators. Common terns and black-headed gulls are much more aggressive than the gentle sandwich tern. In the winter, most sandwich terns migrate to Africa or southern Europe.
Rights Holder: Copyright Ecomare
Trips Where Observed
Africa: Eastern and Southern
Argentina
Mexico to Panama
Mexico, Veracruz
Puerto Rico
Svalbard, Canary Islands, and Spain
Texas
Member Lifelists
Africa
Argentina
Europe
Mexico
North America
South America
United States
World
Sites Where Observed
2/14/2005
ssp. eurygnathus, cayenne tern
10/10/2007
flying over lagoon.
1/2/2016
Offshore close to Fajardo