A single White-cheeked Tern (WCT) was recorded by me at Galle Buck, Colombo on 13 March 1983. The Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL) accepted my sighting as the first record of the species from Sri Lanka and included the WCT in its checklists and field-guides. A second specimen was seen by me at Negombo Lagoon in 1990. (De Silva, 1992). A few years later I observed a small flock while diving at Bar Reef, Kalpitiya. Nevertheless, as doubts regarding the occurrence of WCTs in Sri Lanka had been voiced in certain quarters, and a checklist relegated the WCT to a list of species which were doubtfully recorded from Sri Lanka, it was clear to me that only a specimen could confirm beyond any doubt that the species actually visits the island.