(Picture of Juvenile added) |
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Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
*Lighter greyish above | *Lighter greyish above | ||
*Red bill | *Red bill | ||
+ | [[Image:17075Whiskered Tern2 copy filtered.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Photo by {{user|armando+tomas+v|armando tomas v }}<br />Delta Llobregat, Viladecans, Barcelona, [[Spain]], May 2005 ]] | ||
'''Adult Winter''' | '''Adult Winter''' | ||
*Black cap shrinks to leave a finely barred rear crown, with solid black patch behind the eye. | *Black cap shrinks to leave a finely barred rear crown, with solid black patch behind the eye. | ||
Line 16: | Line 17: | ||
*Whitish rump | *Whitish rump | ||
====Similar Species==== | ====Similar Species==== | ||
− | |||
Summer adults resemble [[Common Tern]]s more than [[Black Tern]]s due to their black and white heads, but the short, broad wings and tails are typical of 'marsh terns'. and their underparts are so dark that the white cheeks stand out boldly. | Summer adults resemble [[Common Tern]]s more than [[Black Tern]]s due to their black and white heads, but the short, broad wings and tails are typical of 'marsh terns'. and their underparts are so dark that the white cheeks stand out boldly. | ||
Juveniles have a dark mantle reminiscent of the saddle on a [[White-winged Black Tern]]; however, it is not so dark in the Whiskered Tern. In addition the rump is not as conspicuously white as on a White-winged Black Tern and the wings of a Whiskered Tern are a more uniform grey. | Juveniles have a dark mantle reminiscent of the saddle on a [[White-winged Black Tern]]; however, it is not so dark in the Whiskered Tern. In addition the rump is not as conspicuously white as on a White-winged Black Tern and the wings of a Whiskered Tern are a more uniform grey. | ||
− | + | [[Image:DSCF8267 Whiskered Tern.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Juvenile<br />Photo by {{user|horukuru|horukuru}}<br />Kota Kinabalu Waterfront, Sabah, [[Malaysia]], September 2009]] | |
The bill is heavier than in other 'marsh terns'. | The bill is heavier than in other 'marsh terns'. | ||
==Distribution== | ==Distribution== |
Revision as of 19:49, 24 July 2010
- Chlidonias hybrida
Identification
24-28 cm
Adult Summer
- Black cap
- White cheeks and sides of neck
- Dark grey underparts
- Lighter greyish above
- Red bill
Adult Winter
- Black cap shrinks to leave a finely barred rear crown, with solid black patch behind the eye.
- Black bill
Juvenile
- Pale brown scaly upperparts
- Whitish rump
Similar Species
Summer adults resemble Common Terns more than Black Terns due to their black and white heads, but the short, broad wings and tails are typical of 'marsh terns'. and their underparts are so dark that the white cheeks stand out boldly.
Juveniles have a dark mantle reminiscent of the saddle on a White-winged Black Tern; however, it is not so dark in the Whiskered Tern. In addition the rump is not as conspicuously white as on a White-winged Black Tern and the wings of a Whiskered Tern are a more uniform grey.
The bill is heavier than in other 'marsh terns'.
Distribution
Europe and Asia. They migrate to sub-Saharan west Africa in the winter, although a few birds will remain in the Mediterranean. Birds which breed in eastern Europe winter in large numbers in the Nile Delta and eastern and southern Africa.
Accidental vagrant to Cape May, New Jersey (2 records) with one moving south to Delaware.
Taxonomy
Subspecies[5]
There are 7 subspecies named by Clements
- C. h. hybrida - South-western Europe to Kazakhstan; winters Africa and south-western Asia
- C. h. swinhoei - Transbaikalia to eastern China and Taiwan
- C. h. indicus - Eastern Iran and Pakistan to northern India
- C. h. javanicus - North-eastern India and Sri Lanka; winters Malaysia and Indonesia
- C. h. sclateri - South Africa and Madagascar
- C. h. delalandii - Kenya to Tanzania
- C. h. fluviatilis - Australia; disperses to New Guinea and Moluccas
Habitat
Inland marshes, pools and fishponds.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes terrestrial and aquatic insects, spiders, frogs, tadpoles, small crabs, shrimps and small fish.
Breeding
The nest is a heap of aquatic vegetation or dry grass, placed either on floating vegetation. They nest in colonies.
References
- BirdLife International
- Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds 1966
- Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
- Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Whiskered Tern. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 21 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Whiskered_Tern