August 11, 2025Marine ornithology0 citationsOpen Access

A Common Tern Sterna hirundo Capturing an Airborne Flying Squid: A Novel Foraging Technique?

Key Points

This novel feeding technique demonstrates common terns capturing airborne flying squid, highlighting adaptability.
Photographic evidence of this rare capture showcases the opportunistic nature of common terns in tropical areas.
Analysis of feeding behaviors indicates that aerial pursuit may be more common when flying prey are available.
This observation emphasizes the need for more studies on seabird behavior in often-overlooked regions like Southeast Asia.

Abstract

Seabirds forage in the air-water interface and have adapted various feeding techniques to exploit resources at or beneath the surface. Here I present photographic evidence of a novel feeding technique by an Eastern Common Tern Sterna hirundo longipennis: the capture of an airborne flying squid. Terns are generally plunge-divers for fish or shrimp, but they are also known to feed extensively on insects and occasionally by kleptoparasitism. Aerial pursuit/capture may be more common among seabirds in areas where flying prey are abundant. This new observation highlights the opportunistic nature and flexibility of seabirds in obtaining prey, as well as the paucity of prior seabird observations in tropical Southeast Asia.

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