Ascension Island Government

Conservation > Discover > Flora and Fauna > Sooty Tern

Sooty Tern

Onychoprion fuscatus

Type: Seabird | Status: Least Concern | Nativeness: Native

Description

Medium-sized, highly pelagic seabird with contrasting black and white plumage and a distinctive ‘wideawake’ call. Extremely sociable, forming very large nesting colonies on open ground. Diet consists predominantly of small fish and squid picked from the surface of ocean. Almost always feeds in association with sub-surface predators such as tuna and dolphins which drive prey within reach.

Action Plan

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