This species is very rarely observed in coastal waters (Jennings 2010, Aspinall and Porter 2011). At sea, it is often associated with patches of macroalgae (e.g. Sargassum spp.) or flotsam which it uses for perching (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Haney et al. 1999, Jennings 2010). Its diet consists predominantly of squid and surface-schooling fish less than 6 cm long as well as crustaceans and occasionally aquatic insects or molluscs (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Higgins and Davies 1996, Jennings 2010). During the breeding season from April to July, the species forms colonies on rocky or sandy islands and on the mainland coast, where enough low vegetation is present (Jennings 2010, Aspinall and Porter 2011). When nesting, the species often associates with nesting White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa or Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis (Jennings 2010). One single egg is laid directly on the ground, in a small scrape or depression in shingle or sand (Higgins and Davies 1996, Jennings 2010). Nests are placed in concealed locations and always in the shade, like under a bush, in a rock crevice or on a ledge (Jennings 2010). The species is migratory and dispersive; it abandons its breeding site at the end of the breeding season to overwinter at sea (Higgins and Davies 1996, Haney et al. 1999). Its detailed migratory movements are largely unknown however (del Hoyo et al. 1996), but it is assumed that the Arabian population winters in the Indian Ocean east of Africa (Jennings 2010). Away from the breeding grounds, the species is entirely pelagic (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Haney et al. 1999).