A distant record shot. Poorly known, this small tern created considerable controversy at the time. The ID was finally resolved by recent publications which clarified the previously intractable differences between Saunders's and Little Tern in non-breeding plumage (Dutch Birding 44: 165-198, 2022).. Key features visible in this photo include the all white crown (no gray smudging), no white eyebrow, paler mantle, contrasting white patch on wing coverts and broader white fringes to inner primaries. A winter visitor recorded mostly on the outlying islands, it is unexpected on Mahé,. Formerly in genus "Sterna."
