Onychoprion lunatus
The Spectacled Tern, scientifically known as *Onychoprion lunatus*, is a medium-sized tropical seabird distinguished by its striking facial markings. Averaging 33-36 cm (13-14 in) in length with a wingspan of 78-82 cm (31-32 in) and weighing around 120-170 g (4.2-6 oz), it features a pale grey back and wings, stark white underparts, and a deeply forked tail. Its most distinctive field mark is a black cap contrasting sharply with a white forehead, which extends as a prominent white 'superciliu...
Primarily a pelagic seabird, inhabiting tropical and subtropical open oceans, coastal waters, and remote oceanic islands or coral atolls for breeding.
Primarily small fish and marine invertebrates, including squid and crustaceans, caught by plunge-diving into surface waters.
Spectacled Terns are largely diurnal, spending much of their non-breeding time dispersed over open ocean, returning to communal roosts on islands or beaches. Foraging involves agile aerial plunge-diving from several meters above the water's surface, often in small, loose flocks, targeting prey ne...
The Spectacled Tern boasts a vast circumglobal distribution across tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its breeding range spans numerous remote islands and atolls from the Hawaiian archipelago (e.g., Northwestern Hawaiian Islands) westward across Micronesia and Polyn...
Least Concern
- The 'spectacled' appearance, created by a white line extending beyond the eye, is the key feature that distinguishes it from its close relatives, the Bridled Tern, which has a shorter line. - They are highly pelagic, meaning they spend most of their lives far out at sea, only coming ashore to b...