Terns (Sternidae)

Saunders's Tern (Sterna saundersi) - HBW 3, p. 657

French: Sterne de Saunders German: Orientseeschwalbe Spanish: Charrancito de Saunders
Other common names: Black-shafted Tern

Taxonomy: Sterna Saundersi Hume, 1877, Karachi.
Forms a superspecies with S. albifrons, S. antillarum, S. superciliaris and S. lorata. Sometimes consi­dered conspecific with S. albifrons. Monotypic.

Distribution: Breeds in Red Sea (N to at least Yanbu) S to Socotra and S Somalia and off Saudi Arabia and Oman, along coasts of Persian Gulf and locally E to NW India; Sri Lanka, mainly in NW & E; large numbers throughout year at Addu Atoll (Maldives), where probably breeds in Apr with other terns, and probably also on Amirantes and possibly Seychelles. Winters from Red Sea S to Tanzania and Madagascar and E to India, and probably in Seychelles and off Malaysian Peninsula.