Onychoprion fuscatus
The Sooty Tern, *Onychoprion fuscatus*, is a medium-large seabird with a striking appearance, measuring 33-36 cm in length, a wingspan of 82-94 cm, and weighing 150-200g. Its plumage is characterized by a sooty black back, wings, and crown, sharply contrasting with brilliant white underparts and a prominent white forehead patch that extends just beyond the eye. A key field mark is its long, deeply forked tail and uniformly dark upperwing, with no distinctive markings on the underwing. Taxonom...
Primarily a pelagic species, the Sooty Tern inhabits tropical and subtropical oceans, venturing far from land for most of its life. It breeds exclusively on remote oceanic islands and atolls, typically at sea level.
The diet of the Sooty Tern consists mainly of small fish, such as flying fish, anchovies, and sardines, along with squid and crustaceans. They primarily forage by snatching prey from the ocean surface or shallow dipping.
Sooty Terns are highly pelagic, often remaining at sea for years after fledging, rarely touching land outside the breeding season. During nesting, colonies can number in the millions, with birds sometimes active nocturnally to mitigate heat. They forage by surface-seizing or dipping for prey, rar...
The Sooty Tern boasts a circumtropical distribution, breeding on numerous remote oceanic islands across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Key breeding strongholds include islands in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico (e.g., Dry Tortugas, Florida), Ascension Island and St. Helena in the...
Least Concern
- The Sooty Tern holds the record for the longest continuous flight among birds, with juveniles capable of remaining airborne for 3-10 years without touching land after fledging. - Its common name 'wideawake' tern comes from its distinctive, loud, and repetitive call, which fills the air at its v...