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Difference between revisions of "Caspian Tern" - BirdForum Opus

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;[[:Category:Sterna|Sterna]] caspia
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[[Image:Caspian Tern, Gambia, Phil Watson.jpg|thumb|500px|right|Breeding adult<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Phil+Watson|Phil Watson}}<br />Adult summer, [[Gambia]], April 2013]]
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[[Image:Caspian_Tern.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by avesdigital]]
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;[[:Category:Hydroprogne|Hydroprogne]] caspia
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''Sterna caspia''
 
==Identification==
 
==Identification==
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Photo taken: Tarifa, Spain
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[[Image:caspian-tern_alok.JPG|thumb|350px|right|Non-breeding adult<br /> Photo &copy; by {{user|aloktewari|Alok Tewari}}<br />Jamnagar, Coastal Gujarat, [[India]], January-2018 ]]
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Length 48–56 cm (19-22 in), wingspan 127-140 cm, weight 570-780 g. The largest tern, 50% heavier than the next largest ([[Royal Tern]] and [[Great Crested Tern]]).<br />
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White head, neck, belly, tail; cap is black in breeding plumage, mottled with white in winter and in juvenile.<br />
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Pale grey back and upper wings, pale, dark tipped underwings.<br />
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Black legs; bill massive, red with a blackish smudge near the tip.<br />
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Juveniles with mantle and wings mottled brown and tail blackish, subadults (1-2 years old) similar but with reduced mottling.
  
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The Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia formerly Sterna caspia - see Bridge et al., 2005) is the largest tern, growing to 23 inches, with a wingspan up to 4.5 feet. In New Zealand it is also known by the Maori name Taranui.
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==Distribution==
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[[Image:Caspian Tern-52.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Non-breeding<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Ken+Doy|Ken Doy}}<br />Bribie Island, [[Queensland]], [[Australia]], September 2018]]
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Widespread but patchy breeding distribution in temperate and subtropical regions of [[Europe]] (north to 66°N in the Baltic Sea), [[Asia]], [[Africa]], [[North America]] (north to 62°N in the Great Slave Lake in Northwest Territories), [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]].
  
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Adult birds have black legs and a long thick red-orange bill. They have a white head with a black cap and white neck, belly and tail. The upper wings and back are pale grey; the underwings are pale with dark tips. In flight, the tail is less forked than other terns and wing tips black on the underside.
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Migratory in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, wintering south to the tropics (including the [[West Indies]] and northern [[South America]], where it does not breed); resident or dispersive in the subtropics and the temperate Southern Hemisphere.
  
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The call is a loud heron-like croak.
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There are records most years for the [[British Isles]].
  
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North American birds migrate to southern coasts, the West Indies and northern South America. Eurasian birds winter in the Old World tropics. Their breeding habitat is large lakes and ocean coasts in North America including the Great Lakes and locally across much of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
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==Taxonomy==
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[[File:Caspian_Tern_Flight_Silhouette_VNGO.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Flight - Silhouette<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|vingio54|vingio54}}<br />Seattle, [[Washington]], [[USA]], 3 May 2021]]
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This is a [[Dictionary_M-O#M|monotypic]] species<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>, in spite of its near-cosmopolitan range. Some authorities formerly recognised two or three subspecies, with nominate ''H. c. caspia'' in the Old World, ''H. c. imperator'' in the New World, and ''H. c. strenua'' in Australasia.
  
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These birds dive for fish, hovering high over the water and then plunging. They also sometimes eat insects and the young and eggs of other birds.
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It was in the past (and is still by some authorities) included in the genus ''[[:Category:Sterna|Sterna]]''.
  
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Breeding is in spring and summer, with 1-3 pale blue green eggs heavily spotted brown laid. They usually nest on the ground among debris or sometimes on floating material.
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==Habitat==
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Large lakes (fresh or salt water) and shallow, sheltered sea coasts; avoids exposed and deep-water ocean coasts. Breeds on sandy coasts and islands.
  
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The Caspian Tern is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
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==Behaviour==
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====Diet====
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The diet includes fish, insects, eggs and young birds.
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====Breeding====
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They are ground nesters, colonially and singly; 1-3 pale blue green eggs, heavily spotted brown, are laid in a bare scrape.
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====Vocalisation====
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The call is a loud croak.
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{{ Audio|Sterna caspia (song).mp3 }}
  
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==Bird Song==
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==Gallery==
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<flashmp3>Sterna caspia (song).mp3</flashmp3><br />
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Click on photo for larger image
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''[[Media:Sterna caspia (song).mp3|Listen in an external program]]''
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<gallery>
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Image:Caspian_Tern.jpg|Subadult<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|avesdigital|avesdigital}}<br />Tarifa, [[Spain]]
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Image:Young larid.jpg|Juvenile<br /> Photo &copy; by {{user|blubird|blubird}}<br />Las Gallinas, [[California]], July 2008
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Image:Caspian-tern-9012.jpg|Juvenile in flight<br /> Photo &copy; by {{user|john-henry|john-henry}}<br />[[Portugal]], November 2008
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</gallery>
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==References==
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#{{Ref-Clements6thAug18}}#Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
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#Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6
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{{ref}}
 
==External Links==
 
==External Links==
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{{GSearch|Sterna+caspia}}
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{{GSearch|"Hydroprogne caspia" {{!}} "Sterna caspia" {{!}} "Caspian tern"}}
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*[http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/birdimages.php?action=birdspecies&Bird_ID=970&Bird_Image_ID=1039&Bird_Family_ID=105 View more images of this species on Orientalbirdimages]
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{{GS-checked}}1
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*[http://www.aviceda.org/abid/birdimages.php?action=birdspecies&fid=41&bid=533 View more images of this species on the ABID]
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<br />
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[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Sterna]]
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<br />
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[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Hydroprogne]] [[Category:Bird Songs]]

Latest revision as of 22:14, 21 July 2023

Breeding adult
Photo © by Phil Watson
Adult summer, Gambia, April 2013
Hydroprogne caspia

Sterna caspia

Identification

Non-breeding adult
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Jamnagar, Coastal Gujarat, India, January-2018

Length 48–56 cm (19-22 in), wingspan 127-140 cm, weight 570-780 g. The largest tern, 50% heavier than the next largest (Royal Tern and Great Crested Tern).
White head, neck, belly, tail; cap is black in breeding plumage, mottled with white in winter and in juvenile.
Pale grey back and upper wings, pale, dark tipped underwings.
Black legs; bill massive, red with a blackish smudge near the tip.
Juveniles with mantle and wings mottled brown and tail blackish, subadults (1-2 years old) similar but with reduced mottling.

Distribution

Non-breeding
Photo © by Ken Doy
Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia, September 2018

Widespread but patchy breeding distribution in temperate and subtropical regions of Europe (north to 66°N in the Baltic Sea), Asia, Africa, North America (north to 62°N in the Great Slave Lake in Northwest Territories), Australia and New Zealand.

Migratory in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, wintering south to the tropics (including the West Indies and northern South America, where it does not breed); resident or dispersive in the subtropics and the temperate Southern Hemisphere.

There are records most years for the British Isles.

Taxonomy

Flight - Silhouette
Photo © by vingio54
Seattle, Washington, USA, 3 May 2021

This is a monotypic species[1], in spite of its near-cosmopolitan range. Some authorities formerly recognised two or three subspecies, with nominate H. c. caspia in the Old World, H. c. imperator in the New World, and H. c. strenua in Australasia.

It was in the past (and is still by some authorities) included in the genus Sterna.

Habitat

Large lakes (fresh or salt water) and shallow, sheltered sea coasts; avoids exposed and deep-water ocean coasts. Breeds on sandy coasts and islands.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes fish, insects, eggs and young birds.

Breeding

They are ground nesters, colonially and singly; 1-3 pale blue green eggs, heavily spotted brown, are laid in a bare scrape.

Vocalisation

The call is a loud croak.

Gallery

Click on photo for larger image

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. Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
  3. Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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