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Sandwich Tern

(Sterna sandvicensis)
Size: 41 cm; wing span 92 cm

Sightings

We have first spotted Sandwich Terns in Oman in the area of Qurayyat, about 100 km east of Muscat, in May 2010. Later in the same month also seen on beaches about 100 km west of Muscat.

Photos

Sandwich Terns, centre, with an adult Sooty Gull in the background ; the bird in the centre is an adult, the two Sandwich Terns with white foreheads are immature birds

Sandwich Tern in flight

Here a different angle

Immature Sandwich Tern in flight

Six Lesser Crested Terns (orange bills), together with two Sandwich Terns (tall birds with dark bills) and two smaller White-cheeked Terns

Lesser Crested Terns (orange bills), together with several White-cheeked Terns (foreground), Crested Terns (yellow bills) and two Sandwich Terns on the right, with their dark bills

Food

Like all terns, Sandwich Terns feed on fish, which they catch with their bills just under the surface of water in a steep high-speed dive from considerable height.

These pages are largely based on our own observations. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.