sooty tern

noun

Definition of sooty tern

: a widely distributed tern (Sterna fuscata) of tropical oceans that is blackish above and white below

— called also wideawake

Examples of sooty tern in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gilardi periodically comes to Wake to study the migratory seabirds, like the sooty terns, that stop here on their journey across the ocean. — CBS News, "Wake Island: Where America's day really begins," 14 Jan. 2018 The photo this week is of a sooty tern by Jeff Lemons Tropical systems are well known for their ability to displace seabirds caught up in the center of rotation. — Taylor Piephoff, charlotteobserver, "Look what the hurricane blew in," 22 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sooty tern.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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