Sterna sumatrana
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The black-naped tern (Sterna sumatrana) is an oceanic tern mostly found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean. They are rarely found inland. It was described from the islands around Sumatra. It is most closely related to roseate tern S. dougallii and white-fronted tern S. striata.
The black-naped tern is named from the black band beginning at the eyes connecting behind the head and descending the back of the neck. The rest of their plumage is white, with pale silvery-grey wings and mantle, apart from the outermost primary feather which has a narrow black outer web. The tail is white, and deeply forked, extending (like the related roseate and white-fronted terns) beyond the wingtips on perched birds. The beaks and legs are black. They have a body length of 30–35 cm and a wingspan of 66 cm. Adults weigh between 97 and 120 g. Hatchlings are mottled brown.
There are two listed subspecies: Sterna sumatrana sumatrana (Raffles, 1822) – islands of the eastern Indian Ocean through to the western Pacific, north to Taiwan and south to Queensland in Australia Sterna sumatrana mathewsi (Stresemann, 1914) – islands of the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Komodo National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Bali Barat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Tangkoko Nature Reserve | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-naped Tern sighting in Kaohsiung on a given day, based on 39 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 141st most-seen of the 214 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-naped Tern in Kaohsiung on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-naped Tern sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Black-naped Tern sightings, Kaohsiung ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Denpasar (Indonesia, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-naped Tern is recorded against all the birds logged in Kaohsiung (39 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
