Field observations confirm a longevity record of 17 years for the Damara Tern, suggesting limited winter migration.
A Damara Tern ringed as an unfledged chick and fitted with a colour ring in March 2008 in southern Namibia has been regularly observed at a roost near Lüderitz in winter and early spring since 2015. The latest confirmed sighting of this bird was on 2 August 2025, i.e. 17 years and four months since ringing. This constitutes the present longevity record for this species. Fifty-seven sightings of this bird since 2015 between mid-May and early October in southern Namibia indicate that it is highly unlikely that it undertook a winter migration to tropical West Africa, at least in most years, during the period 2015–2025.
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Roux et al. (2025) studied this question.
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