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- Sternula saundersi
Sterna saundersi
Identification
Saunders's Tern has grey rump and central tail. Adult summer has a rounded white patch on the forehead without any white supercilium and more black on primaries.
Similar Species
Little Tern has white rump and tail in most (but not all) subspecies and different shape of white in forehead.
Distribution
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Seychelles
Middle East: Israel, Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Socotra, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran
Asia: Pakistan, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Saunders's Tern is closely related to, and was formerly often considered conspecific with, the Little Tern S. albifrons of the Old World. Other close relatives include the Least Tern S. antillarum, Yellow-billed Tern S. superciliaris and Peruvian Tern S. lorata, from South America and Fairy Tern from Australasia. Like all of these, this species was formerly placed in the genus Sterna
Habitat
Behaviour
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Avibase
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Saunders's Tern. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Saunders%27s_Tern
