Saunders's Tern

Saunders's tern, sometimes called the black-shafted tern, is a small tern, 20–28cm long with a wingspan of 50–55cm and a weight of 40–45g. Like its close relative the little tern it has a white body, a black-tipped yellow bill and a black cap with a white forehead patch. In breeding plumage it differs in having a straight-edged forehead patch, more black on the outer primaries and duskier legs and feet than the little tern's bright yellow ones. Outside the breeding season the two can be almost impossible to separate, and some authorities treat them as one species (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is sparsely resident along the shores of the north-western Indian Ocean, from southern Somalia, Arabia and Socotra to Pakistan, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and northern Sri Lanka. It feeds mostly on small fish, crustaceans and molluscs, with some insects, hovering over the water for a long time before plunge-diving. SoIB 2023 lists it as a winter migrant in India with localized summer populations, but gives no trend or priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).