Sooty Tern — Australian Bird Identification Guide

Immature birds are entirely dark blackish with white spots on wings and a white undertail.

⚠️VIC: Vulnerable

At a glance

FamilyGulls, Terns, and Skimmers

SizeMedium

RarityCommon

HabitatIt breeds in colonies on sandy islands, but otherwise usually stays far offshore, and is rarely seen near land except when blown off course by a hurricane.

Best timeMost reliable in New South Wales from November.

Sounds

Sound sample

0:000:00

Recorded by Craig Robertson

Range map

Occurrence window

892visible hotspots

7929visible records

4states

Low confidenceMediumHigh confidence

Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.

Species notes

Overview

Most similar to Bridled Tern, but darker black back, dark undersides of flight feathers, and narrower white edges on tail. Sooty Tern is found in warm tropical waters worldwide.

Behavior

It breeds in colonies on sandy islands, but otherwise usually stays far offshore, and is rarely seen near land except when blown off course by a hurricane.

Gallery