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A photo of a Saunders's Tern (Sternula saundersi)
Saunders's Tern

Saunders's Tern

Sternula saundersi

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.
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Saunders's Terns on Birda

Photos

Sightings

A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Calvin van der Merwe
Calvin van der Merwe
Friday 29 Sep 2023 - 4:15pm
South Africa
A photo of a Saunders's Tern photographed in St Lucia - iMfolozi River mouth South Africa
Profile picture for Jacques van Wyk
Jacques van Wyk
Monday 18 Sep 2023 - 11:30am
South Africa
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Hugh Bulcock
Hugh Bulcock
Thursday 24 Aug 2023 - 11:50am
South Africa
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Hugh Bulcock
Hugh Bulcock
Thursday 24 Aug 2023 - 8:36am
South Africa

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