Family: Laridae, Gulls and Terns view all from this family

Description 16" (41 cm). A slender tern, white with gray mantle, black cap, short crest, and long, black, yellow-tipped bill.

Habitat Coastal beaches and islands.

Nesting 2 greenish, black-marked eggs on bare sand; usually nests with Royal Terns.

Range Breeds locally on Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Virginia to Florida and Texas. Winter in tropics. Also in Eurasia.

Voice   Loud harsh curr-it.

Discussion The Sandwich Tern is one of three crested terns occurring along our coasts. It breeds much farther north in Europe than it does in America because of the warming influence of the Gulf Stream. Sandwich Terns feed offshore, diving for fish, shrimp, and squid; inshore they have been reported to eat marine worms as well.