Grey-Backed Tern
The average length of a Grey- Backed Tern is 14 inches and its wingspan is about 29 inches. It has a shiny black bill and a deep black chin and throat. The wings backside and tail are a brownish gray color.Their whole head is black with a white stripe where the eye is.The Grey -Backed tern has a deeply forked tail with skinny bkack legs and feet.

 

 

 
 

The Grey-Backed Tern spends most of their life out at sea, but stays close to shore and doesn't go far out. They only nest on tropical and sub-tropical islands. If you want to see one the closest one is on Moku Manu.

  
 
 
The Grey-Backed Tern is almost identical to the Sooty Tern.

 

 

The Grey-Backed Tern plunges into the water to catch their prey. It catches small squid and many different kinds of small fish. They also feed upon molluscs, crustaceans, and marine insects. They particularly like to eat Kalakala or the thornback cowfish.

They nest in February and early March. The Grey-Backed Terns’ breeding habits are irregular. They only breed on tropical and subtropical islands and there is a large breeding range on the offshore island Mokumanu.

The Grey-Backed Tern's favorite food is the Thornback Cowfish.
 

Each year the Grey-Backed Tern lays only one egg in rocks or small tuffs of grass. The eggs are about one inch by two inches and they have beautiful splotches cop purple, brownish red, tawny orange brown and blackish brown. The yolks of the eggs are red.The juvenile birds also have a white body with spots on them.

  
 
The yolk of the egg of the Grey-Backed Tern is red.

 

  One can often hear the chirps and calls of a Grey-Backed Tern. It is very sharp and similar to that of a soft cats “meow".