Saunders's tern (Sternula saundersi), sometimes known as the Black-Shafted tern, is a species of bird in the family Laridae. It is sparsely resident along the shores of the north-western Indian Ocean (namely southern Somalia, Arabian peninsula, Socotra, Pakistan, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and northern Sri Lanka). Saunders's tern shares many of the features of its close relative, the Little Tern, including a white body, a black-tipped yellow bill, and a black cap with a white forehead patch. In its breeding plumage, it distinguishes itself with a straight-bordered forehead patch, possessing more black outer primaries, and duskier colored legs and feet in comparison to the bright yellow legs of the Little Tern. In non-breeding plumage, the two are very similar.