Sandwich Tern

Thalasseus sandvicensis (Latham, 1787)

Sandwich Tern, Thalasseus sandvicensis, breeds across the Palearctic and Africa, from the British Isles and Baltic Sea through coastal north-west to south-east Europe, including the eastern Iberian Peninsula, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the eastern and southern Caspian Sea. Outside the breeding season it moves to coastal south-west Europe and the Mediterranean, then on to northern, western and southern Africa, the Persian Gulf, India and Sri Lanka. It is a tern in the family Laridae, and is closely linked with other crested terns, with recorded interbreeding with elegant and lesser crested terns.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Breeding range

Palearctic, Africa: coastal nw to se Europe from British Isles and Baltic Sea to e Iberian Pen., Mediterranean, Black and e, s Caspian seas

Nonbreeding range

coastal sw Europe and Mediterranean to n, w, s Africa, Persian Gulf, India and Sri Lanka