Black-naped Tern (Sterna sumatrana)

 A very rare vagrant with only a few recorded sightings in Sri Lanka. The first record was made on 3rd September 1994 by Laksiri Karunaratne several kilometers off the coast of Colombo. A later sighting by Lahiru Walpita at Olaiththoduvai of the Mananr island on 25th May 2025, supported by photographic evidence, is probably the second record, while the third was reported from Mount Lavinia Beach by Gally Allport and Moditha Kodikara Arachchi on 15th May 2026.

It breeds on tropical islands of the Indian Ocean, including the Andaman and Maldives islands, as well as in the western Pacific. It feeds mainly on fish in the clear waters around offshore islets, usually by picking prey from the water surface and occasionally by plunge-diving, often in association with other terns. The breeding season extends from May to July, during which it nests in dispersed colonies.