Adults: Breeding: Forehead to just above and in front of eye, white. Lores, black. Line through eye, cap, black. Eye, dark brown. Lower neck, whitish-grey. Back, wings, light pearl grey, outer three or four primaries mostly black. Rump, tail, underparts, including underwing, white. Bill, yellow with a black tip. Legs, brownish or olive. Non-breeding: Similar to breeding plumage but crown pale grey. Lores, white with black spot before eye continuing through eye to black nape. Eye, dark brown. Rump, tail, whitish-grey. Bill, olive brown with black tip. Legs, olive brown.
Immatures: Similar to non-breeding adult, but wing feathers may be edged with buff or light brown. Legs, olive brown.
Other Names (World)
Saunders's Tern, Black-shafted Tern, Black-shafted Little Tern, Saunders' Little Tern, Mekran Coast Little Tern
Derivation
Stern'-a - N.L., a gull: saundersi - Howard Saunders (1835 - 1907), a British ornithologist who worked at the British Museum and was a renowned authority on gulls and terns
Bahrain (B), Djibouti, Eritrea, India (B) (NB), Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B), Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives (B) (NB), Oman (B) (P), Pakistan (B) (NB), Qatar, Saudi Arabia (B) (NB), Seychelles (B) (NB), Somalia (B) (NB), Sri Lanka (B) (NB), Sudan (B) (NB), Tanzania [United Republic of], United Arab Emirates (B) (P), Yemen (B).
Vagrant to Israel.
Breeds in Red Sea (north to at least Yanbu) south to Socotra and southern Somalia and off Saudi Arabia and Oman, along coasts of Persian Gulf and locally east to north-western India; Sri Lanka, mainly in north-western and E; large numbers throughout year at Addu Atoll (Maldives), where probably breeds in Apr with other terns, and probably also on Amirantes and possibly Seychelles. Winters from Red Sea south to Tanzania and Madagascar and east to India, and probably in Seychelles and off Malaysian Peninsula.
Saunders's Tern (Sternula saundersi) [XC795147]
by id from Sharma, Duba, Tabuk Province, Saudi Arabia (flight call)
Saunders's Tern (Sternula saundersi) [XC660076]
by David Darrell-Lambert from Jazan-shoreline south of Heritage Village, Saudi Arabia (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds north East Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Iran, southern Pakistan, west and south India, Sri Lanka.
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Nest
A hollow or an animal footprint, bare or lined with shall fragments and small pebbles.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Little Tern (Sternula albifrons), Least Tern (Sternula antillarum), Yellow-billed Tern (Sternula superciliaris) and Peruvian Tern (Sternula lorata). Sometimes considered conspecific with Little Tern (Sternula albifrons).
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Little Tern (Sternula albifrons)
Similar size. Breeding with breeding. Lacks grey rump to tail center. Wedge of outer primaries greyer and not as wide. Legs are bright orange-yellow. However, non-breeding and immatures with non-breeding and immature are practically indistinguishable in the field.
Rare vagrant to Australia. Currently only observed on Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
BirdLife International Species Factsheet