Saunders’s terns (Sternula saundersi) are a small, ground-nesting marine bird species that have a massive rearing range, including the shores and islands of Asia and Africa adjacent to the north Indian Ocean. Despite occupying a large breeding range, little is known about the breeding ecology of this species. This research explored aspects of Saunders’s terns’ breeding ecology and predation rate in 2013 on the Farasan Islands of Saudi Arabia. The outcomes confirm that the mean clutch size of a Saunders’s tern was 1.77 ± 0.08 (n = 31) eggs per clutch and the mean egg size was 31.05 × 23.15 mm. The results of this study show a remarkable relationship between clutch size and egg volume and length (p = .002, p = .004, respectively). Predation was the major reason for nest damage (62.5%). Evidence from cameras at nests showed that the predators of Saunders’s tern nests on the Farasan Islands were white-tailed mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda) and Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus). This is the first study on the breeding ecology of Saunders’s terns, and it shows that predator control is essential to the existence of the species. The results of this study suggest that fencing some breeding sites may help to minimize human disturbance and decrease the risk of nest predation from mammalian predators. Further research is needed to compare the predation rates on the mainland and islands and to develop efficient strategies to conserve this ground-nesting species.

桑德斯的燕鸥（Sternula saundersi）是一种小型的，地面嵌套的海洋鸟类，具有广泛的饲养范围，包括北印度洋附近的亚洲和非洲的海岸和岛屿。尽管其繁殖范围很大，但对该物种的繁殖生态学知之甚少。这项研究探索了桑德斯2013年在沙特阿拉伯的法拉桑群岛上的燕鸥繁殖生态和捕食率的各个方面。结果证实，桑德斯燕鸥的平均离合器尺寸为每个离合器1.77±0.08（n = 31）个鸡蛋，平均鸡蛋尺寸为31.05×23.15 mm。这项研究的结果表明，离合器的大小与卵的大小和长度之间存在显着的关系（p  = .002，p 分别为.004）。捕食是造成巢穴损坏的主要原因（62.5％）。巢中照相机的证据表明，桑德斯在法拉桑群岛上的燕鸥巢的捕食者是白尾猫鼬（Ichneumia albicauda）和埃及秃鹰（Neophron percnopterus）。这是首次对桑德斯燕鸥的繁殖生态进行研究，结果表明，捕食者的控制对于该物种的生存至关重要。这项研究的结果表明，围栏某些繁殖地可能有助于最大程度地减少人为干扰并降低哺乳动物捕食者筑巢的风险。需要进行进一步的研究，以比较大陆和岛屿的捕食率，并制定有效的策略来保护这种地面栖息的物种。