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==Taxonomy== | ==Taxonomy== | ||
[[Image:IMG 7267ao.JPG|thumb|350px|right|Photo by {{user|IanF|IanF}}<br />Sandwich Tern in adult winter plumage, Newburn Bridge, Hartlepool, Cleveland, [[UK]], October 2008 ]] | [[Image:IMG 7267ao.JPG|thumb|350px|right|Photo by {{user|IanF|IanF}}<br />Sandwich Tern in adult winter plumage, Newburn Bridge, Hartlepool, Cleveland, [[UK]], October 2008 ]] | ||
| − | This species is | + | This species is was formerly placed in the genus ''[[:Category:Sterna|Sterna]]''. |
====Subspecies==== | ====Subspecies==== | ||
*''T. s. sandvicensis'' breeds on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of [[Europe]] and winters on the west coast of [[Africa]]. | *''T. s. sandvicensis'' breeds on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of [[Europe]] and winters on the west coast of [[Africa]]. | ||
Revision as of 15:36, 15 July 2014
- Thalasseus sandvicensis
Includes Cabot's Tern and Cayenne Tern
Sterna sandvicensis
Identification
37-43cm
- Thin black bill with pale yellow tip
- Black legs
- Feet have yellow soles[1]
- Light grey above with blackish wing tips. The rump and rather short forked tail is white. Underparts white (sometimes tinged creamy-pink).
Summer Adult: forehead, crown and nape black. Loose long feathers at the nape seem to form a crest in the wind or when excited.
Winter Adult black areas on the front and top of the head turn white and speckledy-grey on the crest. This happens as early as June.
Juvenile: speckled blackish-brown on mantle and wings, brown on forehead, crown and nape; white elsewhere. Bill is sometimes all black.
Distribution
Europe, Atlantic coasts of North and South America. A summer visitor to Britain.
Taxonomy
This species is was formerly placed in the genus Sterna.
Subspecies
- T. s. sandvicensis breeds on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Europe and winters on the west coast of Africa.
- T. s. acuflavidus breeds on Atlantic coasts of North America and winters on Caribbean coasts.
- T. s. eurygnathus breeds and winters on the Atlantic coast of South America.
According to a recent study (Efe et al., 2009) acuflavidus (including subspecies eurygnathus) should be treated as separate species, Cabot's Tern Thalasseus acuflavidus; genetic data showed it to be more closely related to Elegant Tern than to Sandwich Tern. It differs in a stouter bill, with in South American populations an increasing amount of yellow in the bill. There are also differences in timings of wing moult. In the past, the populations with all or mostly yellow bills were sometimes treated as a separate species, Cayenne Tern T. eurygnathus, but Efe et al. concluded these were very close to Cabot's Tern.
There are single records of transatlantic vagrants of T. s. sandvicensis in North America and T. s. acuflavidus in Europe, in both cases ringed birds which allowed confirmed identification at a time when field identification between them was still poorly researched.
Habitat
Almost entirely marine. Breeds on shingly, sandy or rocky islands with a high degree of protection from land predators.
Behaviour
Flight
Strong flight, often quite high.
Breeding
Colonial nesters (often with Common, Arctic, or other terns), the nest is a ground scrape and they lay 1-3 eggs.
Diet
Its diet includes fish which it catches by plunging into the sea.
Vocalisation
<flashmp3>Sterna sandvicensis (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
References
- Cornell and Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds 1966
- Efe, M. A., Tavares, E. S., Baker, A. J. & Bonatto, S. L. (2009). Multigene phylogeny and DNA barcoding indicate that the Sandwich tern complex (Thalasseus sandvicensis, Laridae, Sternini) comprises two species. Mol. Phyl. Evol. 52: 263‑267.
- Wikipedia
- Birdwatchers Pocket Guide ISBN 1-85732-804-3
- Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
- Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6
- Arthur Grosset
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Sandwich Tern. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 18 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sandwich_Tern
External Links
