| Sandwich tern | |
|---|---|
| |
| Adult in breeding plumage, Northumberland, UK | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Laridae |
| Genus: | Thalasseus |
| Species: | T. sandvicensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Thalasseus sandvicensis (Latham, 1787)
| |
| |
| Green: breeding colonies Blue: wintering range | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Sterna sandvicensis | |
The Sandwich tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis)[2] is a tern in the family Laridae. It is very closely related to the lesser crested tern (T. bengalensis), Chinese crested tern (T. bernsteini), Cabot's tern (T. acuflavidus), and elegant tern (T. elegans) and has been known to interbreed with both elegant and lesser crested. It breeds in the Palearctic from Europe to the Caspian Sea and winters in South Africa, India, and Sri Lanka.
The Sandwich tern is a medium-large tern with grey upperparts, white underparts, a yellow-tipped black bill, and a shaggy black crest which becomes less extensive in winter with a white crown. Young birds bear grey and brown scalloped plumage on their backs and wings. It is a vocal bird. It nests in a ground scrape and lays one to three eggs.
Like all Thalasseus terns, the Sandwich tern feeds by plunge diving for fish, usually in marine environments, and the offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.
- ^ BirdLife International (2019). "Thalasseus sandvicensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T22694591A154517364. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22694591A154517364.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Bridge2005was invoked but never defined (see the help page).