Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensis

Conservation status | Probably went through serious decline in late 1800s when eggs were harvested from many colonies. Has made a slow comeback in many areas, but still uncommon. Still vulnerable to disturbance or destruction of nesting sites. |
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Family | Gulls and Terns |
Habitat | Coastal waters, jetties, beaches. Favors warm waters near coastlines, often fairly shallow areas such as bays and estuaries near extensive beaches, mudflats. Sometimes forages farther out to sea. Nests on sandy islands, beaches, sandbars, in coastal lagoons or offshore. |
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Feeding Behavior
Forages by plunging headfirst into water from flight (often hovering first), and emerging immediately with fish held in bill. Sometimes catches insects in flight.
Eggs
1-2, rarely 3. Pale cream, blotched with black, brown, gray. Incubation is by both parents, 21-29 days. Young: If colony subject to disturbance, young may leave nest after a few days and gather in group (called "creche") with others. Young bird recognizes its own parents by voice, comes out of creche to be fed when they approach. Age at first flight about 28-32 days; young may remain with parents another 4 months.
Young
If colony subject to disturbance, young may leave nest after a few days and gather in group (called "creche") with others. Young bird recognizes its own parents by voice, comes out of creche to be fed when they approach. Age at first flight about 28-32 days; young may remain with parents another 4 months.
Diet
Mostly fish. Feeds mainly on smaller fish, such as sand lance and mullet; also eats shrimp, squid, marine worms, and many insects.
Nesting
Usually first breeds at age of 3-4 years. Nests in colonies, very often associated with Royal Terns. Early in courtship, high spiraling flight with long descending glides. On ground, male feeds fish to female; both birds may point bills up, droop wings, turn heads from side to side. Nest site is on ground in open spot. Nest (built by both sexes) is shallow scrape, sometimes lined with bits of debris.
Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
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Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
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Migration
Withdraws in winter from most of Atlantic Coast north of Florida. Along much of Gulf Coast, more common in summer than winter, indicating some southward migration from there. Very rare inland except in Florida, where occasional in migration and after storms.

- All Seasons - Common
- All Seasons - Uncommon
- Breeding - Common
- Breeding - Uncommon
- Winter - Common
- Winter - Uncommon
- Migration - Common
- Migration - Uncommon
See a fully interactive migration map for this species on the Bird Migration Explorer.
Learn moreSongs and Calls
Loud harsh curr-it.Learn more about this sound collection.
How Climate Change Will Reshape the Range of the Sandwich Tern
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Climate threats facing the Sandwich Tern
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.