- Sterna bengalensis
Identification
33-43cm
- Black cap (fades in winter)
- Upperparts uniform grey
- Underparts white
- Black legs
- Long sharp orange bill, may have light yellow tip
Similar Species
Sandwich Tern: black bill with yellow tip
Royal Tern: larger and has a thicker bill
Great Crested Tern: [1] Picture of Lesser Crested and Greater Crested Tern
Distribution
Europe, Africa, Middle East Asia, Australasia
Europe: Portugal, Spain, Gibraltar, Lesvos
Northern Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt
Western Africa: Mauritania, The Gambia, Guinea
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, Mozambique
Southern Africa: South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal
African Islands: Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius
Middle East: Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Socotra, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran
Asia: Pakistan, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Singapore, Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Lesser Sundas, Bali, Timor, Moluccas
Australasia: New Guinea, Papua New Guinea, Australia: Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, Melanesia
Taxonomy
- T. b. emigrate:
- T. b. bengalensis:
- T. b. torresii:
- Persian Gulf; Sulawesi to New Guinea and northern Australia
Habitat
Breeds on coasts and islands.
Behaviour
Breeding
Colonial. It nests in a ground scrape and lays 1-2 eggs.
Diet
Diet includes fish.
References
- 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.
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
- Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
- Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Lesser Crested Tern. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Lesser_Crested_Tern