Bird of the Week – Swift tern
There is no tribal name and in Afrikaans die geelbekseeswael.
A common resident found along the entire Southern African coastline, especially on marine shores and estuaries.
They are gregarious and found in flocks up to 50 birds often in company of other tern species and gulls. These tern have a graceful flight with quick wing beats. They feed by plunge diving and dipping to the surface of the water with fish being 86 per cent of their diet, they also enjoy crustaceans and insects.
Their call is a loud screaming kreee-kreee and stacato rak-rak-rak. The breeding season is February to October. The nest is a shallow scrape on flat, open ground, sometimes lined with grass. Two to three creamy, pale pink or turquoise eggs are laid. The incubation period is unrecorded and they are nestlings for 35 to 40 days.
There is no tribal name and in Afrikaans die geelbekseeswael.
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