South American Tern

Sterna hirundinacea Lesson, RP, 1831

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

South American Tern, Sterna hirundinacea, breeds along the coasts of southern South America from southern Peru and east central Brazil south to Tierra del Fuego, Cape Horn islands and the Falkland Islands. It is a tern of coastal waters and is generally the commonest tern within its range. It is larger than the common tern and the Arctic tern, and adults have a bigger red bill, no dark bar on the wing, and a black cap that drops below the eye with a white crescent between. Juveniles keep barred upperparts and barred tertials.

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers
Breeding range: South America: coastal s Peru and Espiritu Santo (ec Brazil) to Tierra del Fuego, Cape Horn is. and Falkland Is.