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  • Sandwich tern

Sandwich tern

Sandwich tern (adult/summer plumage)
Sandwich tern (adult/summer plumage)
Sandwich tern (summer plumage / in flight)
Sandwich tern (summer plumage / in flight)
Sandwich tern (adult winter plumage)
Sandwich tern (adult winter plumage)
Sandwich tern (juvenile)
Sandwich tern (juvenile)
  • Scientific name: Sterna sandvicensis
  • Bird family: Gulls and terns
  • UK conservation status: Amber
  • Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Sandwich tern call audio

Your browser does not support this audio feature.

David Farrow, xeno-canto

Key information

The Sandwich tern is a very white tern, with a black cap on its head, a long black bill with a yellow tip and short black legs. In flight it shows grey wedges on its wings tips and it has a short forked tail. In the UK, many of the important colonies survive because they are on nature reserves.

What they eat:

Fish such as sandeels, sprats and whiting.

Measurements:

Length:
36-41cm
Wingspan:
95-105cm
Weight:
210-260g

Population:

UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.
UK breeding:
11,000 pairs

Identifying features:

This bird species has different identifying features depending on sex/age/season.

Sandwich tern (adult/summer plumage)

Sandwich tern, summer plumage
Feather colour: Black Grey White
Leg colour: Black
Beak: Black Yellow Long Powerful Medium thickness
Natural habitats: Marine and intertidal Wetland

Sandwich tern (adult winter plumage)

Sandwich Tern in flight, winter plumage
Feather colour: Black Grey White
Leg colour: Black
Beak: Black Yellow Long Powerful Medium thickness
Natural habitats: Marine and intertidal Wetland

Sandwich tern (juvenile)

Sandwich Tern Juvenile
Feather colour: Black Brown Grey White
Leg colour: Black
Beak: Black Long Powerful Medium thickness
Natural habitats: Marine and intertidal Wetland

Similar birds:

Arctic tern
Arctic tern
Common tern
Common tern
Roseate tern
Roseate tern

Where and when to see them

There are colonies of Sandwich terns scattered around the UK coasts including the North Norfolk coast; Minsmere, Suffolk and Dungeness, Kent.

* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  • Resident
  • Passage
  • Summer
  • Winter
Sandwich tern distribution map

Sandwich terns can be seen from late March to September.

  • jan
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RSPB reserves

  • RSPB Lower Lough Erne Islands
  • RSPB Hodbarrow

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