Sooty Tern (Onychoprion fuscatus)

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Laridae IUCN Status: Least Concern

sooty-tern
Age: Adult \ Sex: Unknown | Loc. North America

sooty-tern
Age: Adult \ Sex: Unknown | Loc. North America

sooty-tern
Age: Adult \ Sex: Unknown | Loc. North America

sooty-tern
Age: Juvenile \ Sex: Unknown | Loc. North America


Identification & Behavior: ~85 cm (33 in). 43 cm (17 in). The adult Sooty Tern has black upperparts and white underparts. The juvenile is mostly dusky. The color structure resembles that of a Black Skimmer, but the Sooty Tern is highly pelagic and has a “normal” tern bill.

Status: The Sooty Tern is known in Peru from a sight record off the Bahia Independencia in Paracas, Ica.

Name in Spanish: Gaviotín Oscuro.

Sub-species: Sooty Tern (Onychoprion fuscatus luctuosus), R. A. Philippi and Landbeck 1866.

Meaning of Name: Onychoprion: Gr. Onux= claw, nail and prion= saw, serrated. fuscatus: L. fuscare, fuscus= dark.

See more of the Family Laridae   peru aves

Distribution Map
sooty ternVoice:
Generally silent at sea.


References:

    • Species range based on: Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, and L. Rico. 2006. Distribution maps of the birds of Peru, version 1.0. Environment, Culture & Conservation (ECCo). The Field Museum.  http://fm2.fieldmuseum.org/uw_test/birdsofperu on 01/01/2015.