sooty tern

American  

noun

1. a black and white tern, Sterna fuscata, of small tropical islands.

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Etymology

Origin of sooty tern

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

Every year, when the sooty tern returned to the island to nest on the volcanoes, there was a bloody struggle over finding its first egg.

From Time Magazine Archive

The sooty tern lays its eggs on the ends of broken limbs of the breadfruit tree.

From Time Magazine Archive

As it was the sooty tern, which inhabits the Florida Keys, its appearance so far north and so far inland may be considered somewhat remarkable.

From Wake-Robin by Burroughs, John

Late in the afternoon we saw a flock of gannets, and some sooty tern; the gannets passing so near that we could hear the motion of their long twisted wings.

From The Island Home by Dalziel

The sooty tern is sometimes called the sea-swallow on account of its form and the power of flight.

From Wake-Robin by Burroughs, John