Black-naped Tern
A species of Typical Terns Scientific name : Sterna sumatrana Genus : Typical Terns
Black-naped Tern, A species of Typical Terns
Botanical name: Sterna sumatrana
Genus: Typical Terns
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Aviceda , used under CC-BY-SA-3.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Description
The tern is about 30 cm long with a wing length of 21–23 cm. Their beaks and legs are black, but the tips of their bills are yellow. They have long forked tails. The black-naped tern has a white face and breast with a grayish-white back and wings. The first couple of their primary feathers are gray. There are two listed subspecies: S. s. mathewsi (Stresemann, 1914) – islands of the western Indian Ocean S. s. sumatrana (Raffles, 1822) – islands of the eastern Indian Ocean through to the western Pacific & Australasia
Size
35 cm
Feeding Habits
Black-naped Tern predominantly consumes small fish such as anchovies, flying fish, and sardines. They forage solo, utilizing shallow plunge-diving techniques for capture, but sometimes join other species over hunting fish.
Habitat
Black-naped Tern typically inhabits tropical and subtropical oceanic regions, favoring small rocky, coral, and sandy offshore islands, including reefs and rocky cays. It is often seen feeding in atoll lagoons and nearshore over breakers, though it also ventures out to sea.
Dite type
Piscivorous
General Info
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Photo By Aviceda , used under CC-BY-SA-3.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Shorebirds Family
Gulls Genus
Typical Terns Species
Black-naped Tern