

The first two pictures were made by Raoul Ribot in the Bigi Pan area near New Nickerie in Surinam in March 2006 and the third one was made by Alexandre Renaudier in Venezuela in August 2007. The last one is by Carl Beel in Suriname in September 2008. This bird is very often seen near the coast in Suriname and can be recognised by its stout bill and the dark and white pattern on its wings. It nests on sandbars along big rivers in South America, but no nest has been found in Suriname. It seems to be more abundant in Suriname from May to July then in the other months. Its breeding is said (Handbook of Birds of the World) to take place just in these months and October to December in the Northern part of South America.

Each small square indicates the observation of at least one (group) of these birds, the medium ones at least 4 observations on different days and the largest ones 10 or more. The color of each square indicates: blue for coastal area, yellow for savanna and red for rainforest.
| Distribution in Suriname (explanation) | |
| Coastal area | |
| Savanna | |
| Forests | |
| Mountain forests | |
| Sipalawini savanna | |
Names in:
More pictures of terns in Suriname
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