Damara Tern (Sternula balaenarum)
About the Damara Tern
The Damara tern (Sternula balaenarum) is a species of small tern in the family Laridae which breeds in the southern summer in southern Africa and migrates to tropical African coasts to winter. At 23 centimetres or 9.1 inches in length the Damara tern is a small, rather pale tern. In breeding plumage, the adult has a black cap extending from forehead onto the nape and a very pale grey back. In flight, it displays a black triangular wing tip which runs from the carpal joint to the tip of the wing. In non-breeding plumage the adult shows white on the forehead and crown, with a black mask around the eyes extending to the nape. Immature birds are marked with buff bars across the mantle. The calls of the Damara tern are a high-pitched, sharp "tsit tsit" and quick, harsh "kid-ick".
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 11 recordings for this species: 4 CC BY-NC-ND · 2 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Namibia, South Africa in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Little TernSternula albifronsrecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.