Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Sooty tern (Sterna fuscata or Onychoprion fuscatus), 1790s

Sooty tern (Sterna fuscata or Onychoprion fuscatus), 1790s

TAL & Dai-ichi Life Derby Collection, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW; Purchased from The Rt Hon. The 19th Earl of Derby, 2011; PXD 1098, vol. 4, f. 85

Watercolour

Sooty tern breeding colonies of up to one million pairs have been recorded on Lord Howe Island.
Sooty terns are also called Whale birds. They appear on Phillip Island at the same time as the spring whale migration.
Sooty terns are carnivorous seabirds feeding on squid, crustaceans, fish and the occasional cicada.
During spring, Sooty terns lay a single egg. Young birds stay in colonies for up to 70 days.
Sooty terns make nests on flat, bare sand, shells or a scrape on the ground.
Sooty terns, also known as Wideawakes and Egg-birds, are currently listed as a vulnerable species in Australia.