In breeding plumage, the adult has a black cap extending from forehead onto the nape and a very pale grey back.

In non-breeding plumage the adult shows white on the forehead and crown, with a black mask around the eyes extending to the nape.

[3] The Damara tern generally prefers shorelines in arid, desert regions particularly where there are sheltered bays, estuaries, lagoons and reefs.

[4] The Damara tern eats mainly small fish, with the occasional squid, which are caught in repeated plunge dives from a height of 3-8m.

Their migration is timed to coincide with spawning shoals of small fish in the shallow coastal waters of the Gulf of Guinea caused by strong upwellings at the coast of Ghana.