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The Saunders’s Tern (Sternula saundersi) (Publish in multi-language subtitles)

Saunders’s Tern is a small coastal bird measuring 20 to 28 cm in length, weighing 40 to 45 gram, with a wingspan of 50 to 55 centimetres.

It closely resembles the Little Tern, but can be distinguished by its straight-edged white forehead that does not extend behind the eye, slightly paler grey upperparts that contrast more sharply with the blackish outer primaries, and a grey rump that matches the mantle, where the rump is typically paler.

Their legs and feet are dusky yellow-olive rather than bright orange-yellow.

Saunders’s Tern typically has 3 to 4 black outer primaries with black shafts, compared to just 2 darker primaries with brownish shafts.

Non-breeding adults appear darker above, and juveniles are nearly identical though they may show a darker bar on the secondaries.

This species breeds along the Red Sea from Yanbu southward to Socotra and southern Somalia, as well as off the coasts of Saudi Arabia and Oman, around the Persian Gulf, and east to northwest India.

It is also found in Sri Lanka and in large numbers year-round at Addu Atoll in the Maldives, where it likely breeds in April alongside other terns.

In winter, Saunders’s Tern ranges from the Red Sea southward to Tanzania and Madagascar, and eastward to India, although the details of its Indian wintering grounds remain unclear.

Saunders’s Tern inhabits coastal areas, including estuaries and tidal lagoons, and is rarely found inland. Its movements are not fully understood. Some birds from northeastern Africa migrate south in winter to Tanzania and Madagascar, while Red Sea populations move south within the breeding range. Populations in southeastern Somalia, northern Sudan, and Socotra are considered resident. Others migrate along India’s western coast to Gujarat, Mumbai, and the Maldives.

Saunders’s Tern feeds primarily on small fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and various insects. It forages mainly by plunge-diving, often after extended hovering.

Very little is known about its breeding habits, but nesting has been observed starting in April in the Red Sea, and from May in Karachi and Sri Lanka. The species nests in small, widely spaced colonies, with nests typically 20 to 100 meters apart. Nests are placed above the high tide line or on mudflats, often in wind-blown sand mounds near vegetation or debris. They are usually simple hollows or old animal footprints, sometimes lined with shell fragments and pebbles. A typical clutch consists of two pale eggs.

Classified as Least Concern, Saunders’s Tern is not considered globally threatened. However, the true size of its population is unclear, likely due to the species often being overlooked as a result of its close resemblance to the Little Tern.

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