Sooty Tern

Status Five records. The first record for Canada was recently dead at Gaspereau, Kings County, on 28 August 1924 (Tufts 1925); a gale from the south had passed over the province on 26 August. This specimen is in the Nova Scotia Museum. Local reports suggested that other Sooty Terns reached Yarmouth County in the wake of the same storm. Hurricane "Gladys" ravaged our coast on 21 October 1968 and brought at least one Sooty Tern, found by Eric Cooke at Three Fathom Harbour, Halifax County, on 23 October. Our three other records are well-described: an immature bird at Sable Island on 4 July 1972 (D.A. Welsh); a bird at Green Bay, Lunenburg County, on 28 July 1975 (J.S. and L. Cohrs); and a dying bird picked up on Melmerby Beach, Pictou County, on 7 September 1979 (A. McKay).

Remarks The Sooty Tern is about the same size as our three breeding terns but markedly different in appearance. Adults are sooty black above and white below, and juveniles are largely sooty brown. Colonies of this species are very large, and the Sooty Tern is thought by some to be the most abundant seabird in the world. The nearest colonies to Nova Scotia are in Florida and the Bahamas.