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Difference between revisions of "River Tern" - BirdForum Opus

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[[Image:River_Tern2.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo &copy; by {{user|James+Williams|James Williams}}<br /> Ranganatithu, near Mysore, Southern [[India]], January 2007]]
 
;[[:Category:Sterna|Sterna]] aurantia
 
;[[:Category:Sterna|Sterna]] aurantia
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[[Image:River_Tern2.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by James Williams<br/>Location: Ranganatithu, near Mysore, S. India]]
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==Identification==
 
==Identification==
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38-43 cm..  Dark grey upperparts, white underparts, a forked tail with long flexible streamers, and long pointed wings, yellow bill, red legs, a black cap in breeding plumage. In the winter the cap is greyish white, flecked and streaked with black, there is a dark mask through the eye, and the tip of the bill becomes dusky.
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[[Image:river_tern_alok.JPG|thumb|350px|right|Winter Plumage<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|aloktewari|Alok Tewari}}<br /> Jhajjar, Haryana [[India]], Dec-2016]]
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38–46 cm (15-18 inches)
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The sexes are similar but juveniles have a brown head, brown-marked grey upperparts, grey breast sides and white underparts. The bill is yellowish with a dark tip
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====Breeding====
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*Black crown
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*Dark grey upperparts
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*White underparts
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*Black [[Topography#Heads|lores]]
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*Deeply forked tail with long flexible streamers
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*Long pointed wings
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*Stout yellow bill
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*Red legs
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[[Image:River_Tern.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Photo &copy; by {{user|alkumaheerd|alkumaheerd}}<br />Emer Ab-bandan, Golestan, [[Iran]], January 2005]]
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====Winter====
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*Greyish-white cap with black streaks
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*Dark eye mask
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*Dusky bill tip
  
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The sexes are similar
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<br />
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'''Juveniles'''
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*Brown head
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*Grey upperparts with brown marks
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*Grey breast sides
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*White underparts
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*Yellowish bill with a dark tip
  
 
==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==
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[[Iran]], [[Pakistan]], [[India]] and [[Myanmar]], sometimes [[Thailand]].
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[[Asia]]: found from [[Pakistan]] to southern [[India]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Nepal]] and south-western [[China]].
  
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Occasionally observed in [[Iran]].
 
==Taxonomy==
 
==Taxonomy==
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This is a [[Dictionary_M-O#M|monotypic]] species<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>.
 
==Habitat==
 
==Habitat==
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Freshwater inland rivers and lakes.
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Breeds on the sandy islands of freshwater inland rivers and lakes. They rarely visit coasts and estuaries.
 
==Behaviour==
 
==Behaviour==
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[[Image:River_Tern.jpg|thumb|350px|left|Photo by alkumaheerd<br/>Location: Emer Ab-bandan, Golestan, Iran]]
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====Diet====
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Their diet consists of fish, crustaceans, tadpoles and aquatic insects. Has been recorded as eating a frog.
  
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Its diet includes fish, crustaceans, tadpoles and aquatic insects.
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They feed by plunge-diving.
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====Breeding====
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They nest in a ground scrape, often on bare rock or sand. The clutch contains 3 greenish-grey to buff eggs, which are blotched and streaked with brown.
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==References==
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#{{Ref-Clements6thAug18}}#Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2015)
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{{ref}}
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==External Links==
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{{GSearch|"Sterna aurantia" {{!}} "River tern"}}
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<br />
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{{VSearch|"Sterna aurantia" {{!}} "River tern"}}
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{{GS-checked}}1
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<br />
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<br />
  
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It nests in a ground scrape, often on bare rock or sand, and lays 3 greenish-grey to buff eggs, which are blotched and streaked with brown.
 
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==External Links==
 
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{{GSearch|Sterna+aurantia}}
 
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*[http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/birdimages.php?action=birdspecies&Bird_ID=971&Bird_Image_ID=252&Bird_Family_ID=105 View more images of this species on Orientalbirdimages]
 
 
[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Sterna]]
 
[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Sterna]]

Latest revision as of 22:25, 15 May 2023

Photo © by James Williams
Ranganatithu, near Mysore, Southern India, January 2007
Sterna aurantia

Identification

Winter Plumage
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Jhajjar, Haryana India, Dec-2016

38–46 cm (15-18 inches)

Breeding

  • Black crown
  • Dark grey upperparts
  • White underparts
  • Black lores
  • Deeply forked tail with long flexible streamers
  • Long pointed wings
  • Stout yellow bill
  • Red legs
Photo © by alkumaheerd
Emer Ab-bandan, Golestan, Iran, January 2005

Winter

  • Greyish-white cap with black streaks
  • Dark eye mask
  • Dusky bill tip

The sexes are similar
Juveniles

  • Brown head
  • Grey upperparts with brown marks
  • Grey breast sides
  • White underparts
  • Yellowish bill with a dark tip

Distribution

Asia: found from Pakistan to southern India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and south-western China.

Occasionally observed in Iran.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1].

Habitat

Breeds on the sandy islands of freshwater inland rivers and lakes. They rarely visit coasts and estuaries.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists of fish, crustaceans, tadpoles and aquatic insects. Has been recorded as eating a frog.

They feed by plunge-diving.

Breeding

They nest in a ground scrape, often on bare rock or sand. The clutch contains 3 greenish-grey to buff eggs, which are blotched and streaked with brown.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2015)

Recommended Citation

External Links


GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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