Sandwich tern

Sandwich tern
	Sandwich Tern ( Thalasseus sandvicensis ) calls ? / i young and adult sandwich terns ;
Systematics
Class :	Birds (aves)
Order :	Plover-like (Charadriiformes)
Family :	Terns (Sternidae)
Genre :	Thalasseus
Type :	Sandwich tern
Scientific name
	Thalasseus sandvicensis
	( Latham , 1787)

The sandwich tern ( Thalasseus sandvicensis , until 2005 Sterna sandvicensis ) is a species of bird of the genus Thalasseus from the family of the tern (Sternidae). In the Red List of Germany's breeding birds from 2015, the species is listed in Category 1 as critically endangered.

description

The sandwich tern is about 40 cm long and has a wingspan of about 100 to 110 cm. Their long beak is black and has a light yellow tip. The top of the wings is colored light gray. The underside and the neck are colored white. The headstock and the disheveled head of the neck are colored black. Males and females have the same coloration. Her short tail is forked. The cawing call of the sandwich tern sounds something like "kärrik". Sandwich terns can live up to 23 years.

Sandwich terns in front of Helgoland (dune)

Sandwich Terns

habitat

Distribution map (yellow = summer, orange = winter)

The sandwich tern lives on the European coasts of the North Sea , the Baltic Sea , the Atlantic , the Mediterranean and the Black and Caspian Seas . In Central Europe it stays from March to September. In winter it moves to southern Europe to South Africa . It inhabits coasts and small islands with shallow water and abundant food. The two most important nesting colonies of the sandwich tern in the German Bight are on the uninhabited Hallig Norderoog and the island of Trischen , both off the Schleswig-Holstein North Sea coast. The largest colony in Western Europe of over 10,000 breeding pairs breeds on the Dutch island of Griend .

nutrition

With sand eel in its beak

The sandwich tern is an accurate shock diver . It mainly catches small fish on the coast or in the open sea . It also feeds on mollusks , worms and insects .

Reproduction

The sexual maturity occurs after three to four years. The sandwich tern breeds in narrow, huge colonies from May to July. Undisturbed small islands are preferred as breeding grounds. A breeding colony can consist of 1000 to 9000 pairs, with up to ten breeding pairs sharing a square meter if there is little space. The birds in the crowd can defend themselves effectively against enemies with shouting, flies and defecation. The nesting site, a hollow with a maximum size of 20 cm, is located in dunes or on sandbanks . Both parents keep one to three eggs warm for about 24 days. After two days the young leave the nest and explore the area together. After four to five weeks, the young birds are fully fledged, but their parents still care for them. Storm surges and people are the most common reasons for high losses.

Males in wedding dress, winter dress and as a young animal
Laid in the collection of the Wiesbaden Museum
Adult bird with fish approaching young animal

Web links

Commons : Sandwich Tern - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Thalasseus sandvicensis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on December 20 of 2008.
various terns photographed in the wild.
Sandwich tern feathers

Individual evidence

↑ Christoph Grüneberg, Hans-Günther Bauer, Heiko Haupt, Ommo Hüppop, Torsten Ryslavy, Peter Südbeck: Red List of Germany's Breeding Birds , 5 version . In: German Council for Bird Protection (Hrsg.): Reports on bird protection . tape 52 , November 30, 2015.

[1] Christoph Grüneberg, Hans-Günther Bauer, Heiko Haupt, Ommo Hüppop, Torsten Ryslavy, Peter Südbeck: Red List of Germany's Breeding Birds , 5 version . In: German Council for Bird Protection (Hrsg.): Reports on bird protection . tape 52 , November 30, 2015.