Sandwich Tern
Sandwich Tern: Only medium-sized tern with long slender black bill tipped with yellow; upperparts are very pale gray, nearly white, and underparts are white. The black crown has a short black crest. White tail is deeply forked; legs and feet are black. Direct flight, hovers before diving for fish.
● Song:
"gwit-gwit", "skir-rick", "kehk", "ki-i wii wii"
● Foraging & Feeding:
Sandwich Tern: Prefers to feed at sea; Usually hovers, then dives from great heights to catch prey under water. Eats small fish, squid and shrimp.
● Breeding & nesting:
Sandwich Tern: Monogamous; colonial, often mixed with other terns, especially Royal Terns. Simple nest on coastal beaches and islands, in the open above tidemark, unlined or lined with debris; One to three white to pink eggs with brown, black, and gray markings. Incubation ranges from 21 to 29 days and is carried out by both sexes; first flight at 28 to 32 days.
● Similar species:
Sandwich Tern: Royal Tern is larger, plumper, with heavier, orange bill. Gull-billed Tern lacks crest and has stubbier bill and less forked tail.