Sooty Tern

Onychoprion fuscatus (Linnaeus, 1766) SOOTE 6230
Family: Charadriiformes > Laridae

Sooty Tern, Tom Cadwallender

One of the most aerial of terns, the Sooty Tern rarely comes to land, except to breed in colonies on islands scattered throughout the Tropics. It is a very rare visitor to Britain & Ireland, with records generally from April to October.

Select a topic for more facts and statistics about the Sooty Tern

  • Breeding
  • Winter
291 records observations recorded by BTO surveyors
291 records

BTO RECORDS

291 records observations recorded by BTO surveyors
291 records

BTO RECORDS

Identification

Develop your bird ID skills with our training courses

Our interactive online courses are a great way to develop your bird identification skills, whether you're new to the hobby or a competent birder looking to hone your abilities.

Browse training courses

Status and Trends

Population size and trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO surveys and atlases with data collected by BTO volunteers.

CONSERVATION STATUS

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

POPULATION SIZE

We have no population estimates for this scarce species.

DISTRIBUTION

This vagrant is too rarely reported to map distribution.

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Movement

Information about movement and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

RINGING RECOVERIES

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information about Sooty Tern, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

PRODUCTIVITY & NESTING

Sample sizes are too small to report Productivity and Nesting statistics for this species.

CODES & CLASSIFICATION

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Welsh: Môr-wennol Fraith
Catalan: xatrac fosc
Czech: rybák cernohrbetý
Danish: Sodfarvet Terne
Dutch: Bonte Stern
Estonian: nõgitiir
Finnish: nokitiira
French: Sterne fuligineuse
German: Rußseeschwalbe
Hungarian: füstös csér
Icelandic: Möttulþerna
Italian: Sterna scura
Latvian: tumšais zirinš
Lithuanian: tamsioji žuvedra
Norwegian: Sotterne
Polish: rybitwa czarnogrzbieta
Portuguese: trinta-réis-das-rocas / gaivina-de-dorso-preto
Slovak: rybár ciernochrbtý
Slovenian: crnoperuta cigra
Spanish: Charrán sombrío
Swedish: sottärna

Links to more information from ConservationEvidence.com

Would you like to search for another species?