Wildlifeof India
White-cheeked Tern
Gulls, Terns & Skuas
Photo: (c) Afsar Nayakkan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Sterna repressa
Basic stats
Diet
Invertebrates and small fish
Habitat
Tropical coasts and inshore waters, foraging within about 3km of land over coral reefs
Range
Red Sea, Horn of Africa to Kenya, the Persian Gulf and the Iranian coast to Pakistan and western India
Clutch size
Colonies of 10–200 pairs
The white-cheeked tern is a tern found around the coasts of the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa to Kenya, the Persian Gulf and the Iranian coast to Pakistan and western India. Most birds are migratory, though those in East Africa may stay all year. It inhabits tropical coasts and inshore waters and forages mainly within about 3 km of land over coral reefs (Wikipedia, general species account).
It breeds in colonies of 10–200 pairs, which may be mixed with other terns, nesting in a shallow scrape on rock, sand, gravel or coral islands, bare exposed sandflats and sparsely vegetated open ground on dunes and beaches above the high-water mark. Its diet is invertebrates and small fish. SoIB 2023 lists it as a passage migrant of wetland that eats vertebrates, and does not assign a priority category (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).
Quick answers
- What does the White-cheeked Tern eat?
- Invertebrates and small fish
- What habitat does the White-cheeked Tern live in?
- Tropical coasts and inshore waters, foraging within about 3km of land over coral reefs
- Where is the White-cheeked Tern found?
- Red Sea, Horn of Africa to Kenya, the Persian Gulf and the Iranian coast to Pakistan and western India
- How many eggs does the White-cheeked Tern lay?
- Colonies of 10–200 pairs