Lesser crested tern: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
VisualWikitext
imported>MPF
remove misidentified image
 
imported>314pies
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
{{Speciesbox
| image = Lesser_crested_terns_(Thalasseus_bengalensis)_by_Shantanu_Kuveskar.jpg
| image = طائر الخرشنه - محميات جنوب البحر الاحمر.jpg
| image_caption = A pair of Lesser crested terns ''Thalasseus bengalensis'' from Akshi Beach, [[Maharashtra]], [[India]]
| image_caption = Colony of ''T. b. bengalensis'' in the Red Sea off the Egyptian coast
| status = LC
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Thalasseus bengalensis'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22694561A132560333 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22694561A132560333.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Thalasseus bengalensis'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T22694561A132560333 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22694561A132560333.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Thalasseus
| genus = Thalasseus
| species = bengalensis
| species = bengalensis
Line 19: Line 19:
==Distribution==
==Distribution==


It breeds in subtropical coastal parts of the world mainly from the [[Red Sea]] across the [[Indian Ocean]] to the western [[Pacific]], and [[Australia]], with a significant population on the southern coast of the [[Mediterranean]] on two islands off the [[Libya]]n coast. Accidental breeding has also been reported in Italy and France. The Australian birds are probably sedentary, but other populations are [[bird migration|migratory]], wintering south to [[South Africa]].
It breeds in subtropical coastal parts of the world mainly from the [[Red Sea]] across the [[Indian Ocean]] to the western [[Pacific]], and [[Australia]], with a significant population on the southern coast of the [[Mediterranean]] on two islands off the [[Libya]]n coast. It is an occasional [[Vagrancy (biology)|vagrant]] to [[Europe]],{{Refn|[[France]], [[Italy]], [[Spain]] and the [[United Kingdom]]|group=Note}} where it has been known to breed in pure and mixed (with [[Sandwich tern]]) pairs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus Bengalensis Species Factsheet |url=https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/lesser-crested-tern-thalasseus-bengalensis |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=BirdLife DataZone |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Scarton |first=F |last2=Valle |first2=R |last3=Rusticali |date=2000 |title=New breeding site of Lesser Crested Tern in Italy |url=https://www.birdingveneto.eu/venezia/biblio/scarton_et_al_2000a.pdf |journal=British Birds |volume=93 |issue=9 |pages=448-451}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lesser Crested Tern |url=https://www.historicalrarebirds.info/u20/lesser-crested-tern |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=Historical Rare Birds |language=en-US}}</ref> The Australian birds are probably sedentary, but other populations are [[bird migration|migratory]], wintering south to [[South Africa]].


==Subspecies==
==Subspecies==
This [[bird]] has three geographical [[subspecies]], differing mainly in size and minor plumage details:<ref name="IOC">{{cite web | title=Noddies, skimmers, gulls, terns, skuas, auks – IOC World Bird List | website=IOC World Bird List – Version 14.2 | date=2024-08-17 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/gulls/ | access-date=2025-01-15}}</ref><ref name="HBW">{{cite book | last=Hoyo | first=Josep del | last2=Elliott | first2=Andrew | last3=Sargatal | first3=Jordi | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World: Hoatzin to auks | publisher=Lynx edicions | publication-place=Barcelona | date=1992 | isbn=84-87334-20-2 | language=de | page=}}</ref>
This bird has three geographical [[subspecies]], differing mainly in size and minor plumage details:<ref name="IOC">{{cite web | title=Noddies, skimmers, gulls, terns, skuas, auks – IOC World Bird List | website=IOC World Bird List – Version 15.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/gulls/ | access-date=2025-09-11}}</ref><ref name="HBW">{{cite book | last=Hoyo | first=Josep del | last2=Elliott | first2=Andrew | last3=Sargatal | first3=Jordi | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World: Hoatzin to auks | publisher=Lynx edicions | publication-place=Barcelona | date=1992 | isbn=84-87334-20-2 | volume=3 | page=646 }}</ref>
* ''T. b. emigratus'' <small>([[Oscar Neumann|Neumann]], 1934)</small>: breeding in the [[Mediterranean]] on islands off the coast of [[Libya]], wintering [[West Africa]]. Pale grey above (only marginally darker than [[Sandwich tern]]); slightly larger.
* ''T. b. emigratus'' <small>([[Oscar Neumann|Neumann]], 1934)</small>: breeding in the [[Mediterranean]] on islands off the coast of [[Libya]], wintering [[West Africa]]. Pale grey above (only marginally darker than [[Sandwich tern]]); slightly larger.
* ''T. b. bengalensis'' <small>([[Rene Primevere Lesson|Lesson]], 1831)</small>: northern [[Indian Ocean]], wintering to [[South Africa]]. Medium-dark grey above; slightly smaller.
* ''T. b. bengalensis'' <small>([[Rene Primevere Lesson|Lesson]], 1831)</small>: northern [[Indian Ocean]] including the [[Red Sea]] and the [[Persian Gulf]], wintering to [[South Africa]]. Medium-dark grey above; slightly smaller.
* ''T. b. torresii'' <small>([[John Gould|Gould]], 1843)</small>: [[Indonesia]] south to [[Queensland]], [[Australia]], wintering in the same area (birds breeding in the [[Persian Gulf]] are also often given as this race). Dark grey above; slightly larger.
* ''T. b. torresii'' <small>([[John Gould|Gould]], 1843)</small>: [[Indonesia]] south to [[Queensland]], [[Australia]], wintering in the same area (birds breeding in the Persian Gulf were formerly also sometimes cited as this subspecies<ref name="HBW"/>). Dark grey above; slightly larger.
<gallery mode = packed heights = 150px>
<gallery mode = packed heights = 150px>
Thalasseus bengalensis, Foundiougne, Sénégal 2.jpg|''T. b. emigratus'', Senegal
Thalasseus bengalensis, Foundiougne, Sénégal 2.jpg|''T. b. emigratus'', Senegal
Lesser Crested Tern at Kutch.jpg|''T. b. bengalensis'', Kutch, India
Lesser Crested Tern at Kutch.jpg|''T. b. bengalensis'', Kutch, India
Lesser crested tern (Thalasseus bengalensis torresii) in flight Michaelmas Cay.jpg|''T. b. torresii'', Michaelmas Cay, Queensland
Lesser crested tern (Thalasseus bengalensis torresii) in flight Michaelmas Cay.jpg|''T. b. torresii'', Michaelmas Cay, Queensland
</gallery>
</gallery>[[File:Thalasseus bengalensis MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.135.18.jpg|thumb| ''Thalasseus bengalensis'' egg, [[Muséum de Toulouse]].]]
 
The Mediterranean subspecies is a rare vagrant to [[Europe]], and has bred in pure or mixed pairs (with [[Sandwich tern]]) in [[Italy]], [[Spain]] and [[England]].
 
This species breeds in dense colonies on coasts and islands. It nests in a ground scrape and lays one to two (rarely three) eggs. Nesting behaviour is very similar to that of [[Sandwich tern]]s, with predator avoidance by nesting in very dense colonies, and also (in ''T. b. emigratus'' at least) by nesting in the late summer when predatory [[yellow-legged gull]]s have finished breeding and departed from the nesting area.<ref name="BB87">{{cite journal |last1=Meininger |first1=Peter L. |last2=Wolf |first2=Pin A. |last3=Hadoud |first3=Dau A. |last4=Essghaier |first4=Mohamed F. A. |title=Rediscovery of Lesser Crested Terns breeding in Libya |journal=British Birds |date=1994 |volume=87 |issue=4 |pages=160-170}}</ref>
[[File:Thalasseus bengalensis MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.135.18.jpg|thumb| ''Thalasseus bengalensis'' - [[MHNT]]]]


==Description==
==Description==
Like all ''Thalasseus'' terns, lesser crested tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, usually from saline environments. It usually dives directly, and not from the "stepped-hover" favoured by [[Arctic tern]].  The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.
[[File:Lesser crested terns (Thalasseus bengalensis) by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg|left|thumb|Lesser crested terns ''T. b. bengalensis'' in winter plumage, Akshi Beach, [[Maharashtra]], India]]
 
This is a medium-large tern, 35–43&nbsp;cm long and with a 88–105&nbsp;cm wingspan; its weight ranges from 185–242&nbsp;g.<ref name="HBW"/> It is very similar in size and general appearance to its three very close relatives [[Sandwich tern]], [[Elegant tern]] and [[Chinese crested tern]]. The summer adult has a black cap, black legs and a long sharp orange bill. The upperwings, rump and central tail feathers are grey and the underparts white. The primary flight feathers darken during the summer. In winter, the forehead becomes white. The call is a loud grating noise like Sandwich tern.<ref name="Svensson">{{cite book | last=Svensson | first=Lars | last2=Mullarney | first2=Killian | last3=Zetterstroem | first3=Dan | title=Collins Bird Guide | publisher=William Collins | date=2023-03-16 | isbn=978-0-00-854746-2 | page=}}</ref>
This is a medium-large tern, very similar in size and general appearance to its three very close relatives [[Sandwich tern]], [[Elegant tern]] and [[Chinese crested tern]]. The summer adult has a black cap, black legs and a long sharp orange bill. The upperwings, rump and central tail feathers are grey and the underparts white. The primary flight feathers darken during the summer. In winter, the forehead becomes white. The call is a loud grating noise like Sandwich tern.<ref name="Svensson">{{cite book | last=Svensson | first=Lars | last2=Mullarney | first2=Killian | last3=Zetterstroem | first3=Dan | title=Collins Bird Guide | publisher=William Collins | date=2023-03-16 | isbn=978-0-00-854746-2 | page=}}</ref>


The grey rump is a useful flight identification feature distinguishing it from the related species. The Elegant tern also differs in a slightly longer, slenderer bill, while Chinese crested tern differs in a black tip to the bill and Sandwich tern a black bill with a yellow tip.<ref name="Svensson"/>
The grey rump is a useful flight identification feature distinguishing it from the related species. The Elegant tern also differs in a slightly longer, slenderer bill, while Chinese crested tern differs in a black tip to the bill and Sandwich tern a black bill with a yellow tip.<ref name="Svensson"/>
Line 46: Line 40:
Juvenile lesser crested terns resemble same-age Sandwich terns, but with a yellow-orange bill, and paler overall, with only faint dark crescents on the mantle feathers.
Juvenile lesser crested terns resemble same-age Sandwich terns, but with a yellow-orange bill, and paler overall, with only faint dark crescents on the mantle feathers.


There are two other orange-billed terns within the range of this species, [[royal tern]] and [[Greater crested tern]]. Both are much larger and stouter-billed; royal also has a white rump and tail, while crested (which shares the grey rump) is darker overall above and has a yellower bill. See also [[orange-billed tern]].
There are two other orange-billed terns within the range of this species, [[West African crested tern]], and [[Greater crested tern]]. Both are larger and stouter-billed; West African crested tern also has a white rump and tail, while crested tern (which shares the grey rump) is darker overall above and has a yellower to greenish-yellow bill.<ref name="HBW"/>
 
Like all ''Thalasseus'' terns, lesser crested tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, usually from saline environments. It usually dives directly, and not from the "stepped-hover" favoured by [[Arctic tern]].  The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.
 
This species breeds in dense colonies on coasts and islands. It nests in a ground scrape and lays one to two (rarely three) eggs. Nesting behaviour is very similar to that of [[Sandwich tern]]s, with predator avoidance by nesting in very dense colonies, and also (in ''T. b. emigratus'' at least) by nesting in the late summer when predatory [[yellow-legged gull]]s have finished breeding and departed from the nesting area.<ref name="BB87">{{cite journal |last1=Meininger |first1=Peter L. |last2=Wolf |first2=Pin A. |last3=Hadoud |first3=Dau A. |last4=Essghaier |first4=Mohamed F. A. |title=Rediscovery of Lesser Crested Terns breeding in Libya |journal=British Birds |date=1994 |volume=87 |issue=4 |pages=160-170}}</ref>


==Conservation==
==Conservation==
''T. bengalensis'' is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' ([[AEWA]]) applies, and one of 10 marine bird species listed in Mediterranean marine birds Action Plan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rac-spa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=154|title=Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas|website=www.rac-spa.org|access-date=23 July 2020|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630182824/http://www.rac-spa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=154|archive-date=30 June 2017}}</ref>
''T. bengalensis'' is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' ([[AEWA]]) applies, and one of 10 marine bird species listed in Mediterranean marine birds Action Plan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rac-spa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=154|title=Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas|website=www.rac-spa.org|access-date=23 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630182824/http://www.rac-spa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=154|archive-date=30 June 2017}}</ref>


In India the Lesser crested tern is protected in the [[PM Sayeed Marine Birds Conservation Reserve]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://scroll.in/article/961303/lakshadweep-gets-worlds-first-sea-cucumber-conservation-reserve-to-curb-smuggling-into-china|title=Lakshadweep gets world's first sea cucumber conservation reserve to curb smuggling into China|newspaper=Scroll|author=KA Shaji|date=13 May 2020|access-date=23 July 2020}}</ref>
In India the Lesser crested tern is protected in the [[PM Sayeed Marine Birds Conservation Reserve]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://scroll.in/article/961303/lakshadweep-gets-worlds-first-sea-cucumber-conservation-reserve-to-curb-smuggling-into-china|title=Lakshadweep gets world's first sea cucumber conservation reserve to curb smuggling into China|newspaper=Scroll|author=KA Shaji|date=13 May 2020|access-date=23 July 2020}}</ref>


[[Image:Lesser Crested Tern manly.ogg|thumb|300px|left| Manly Marina, SE Queensland, Australia with crested and Caspian terns, silver gulls and pied oystercatcher]]
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:Lesser crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) in Algeria.jpg|''T. b. emigratus'', Algeria
File:Lesser Crested Tern manly.ogg|''T. b. torresii'' at Manly Marina, SE Queensland, with crested and Caspian terns, silver gulls and pied oystercatcher
File:Lesser crested terns at Muzhappilangad beach.jpg|Lesser crested terns at [[Muzhappilangad beach]]
</gallery>


[[Image:OneSandwichAmongLesserCrestedTerns.jpg|thumb|right| Many lesser crested terns with a solitary Sandwich tern clicked in  [[Kannur]], [[Kerala]], [[India]].]]
{{clear}}


[[File:Lesser crested terns at Muzhappilangad beach.jpg|thumb|Lesser crested terns at [[Muzhappilangad beach]]]]
== Notes ==
 
{{Reflist|group=Note}}
{{clear}}


== References ==
== References ==
Line 68: Line 69:
* Baker N.E (1984). Lesser Crested Tern in Bengazi, Libya. Bull. Orn. Soc. Middle East.
* Baker N.E (1984). Lesser Crested Tern in Bengazi, Libya. Bull. Orn. Soc. Middle East.
* Hamza, A.,  H. Azafzaf, N. Baccetti, E.M. Bourass, J. J.Borg, P. Defos du Rau, A. Saied, J. Sultana, M. Zenatello (2008) Report on census and ringing of Lesser Crested Tern in Libya (2-10 Aug. 2007), with a preliminary inventory of Libyan islands. UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA and EGA. Tech. Report.
* Hamza, A.,  H. Azafzaf, N. Baccetti, E.M. Bourass, J. J.Borg, P. Defos du Rau, A. Saied, J. Sultana, M. Zenatello (2008) Report on census and ringing of Lesser Crested Tern in Libya (2-10 Aug. 2007), with a preliminary inventory of Libyan islands. UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA and EGA. Tech. Report.
* Meininger, Peter L., Pim A. Wolf, Dan A. Hadoud and Mohamed F. A. Essghaier (1994) Rediscovery of Lesser Crested Tern breeding in Libya ''[[British Birds (magazine)|British Birds]]'' 87(4):160-170.
* Moltoni E. (1938). Escursione ornitologica all'Isola degli Uccelli (Golfo della Gran Sirte, Cirenaica). Riv. Ital. Orn 8 : 1-16.
* Moltoni E. (1938). Escursione ornitologica all’Isola degli Uccelli (Golfo della Gran Sirte, Cirenaica). Riv. Ital. Orn 8 : 1-16.


== External links ==
== External links ==

Latest revision as of 16:18, 24 December 2025

Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox

The lesser crested tern (Thalasseus bengalensis)[1] is a tern in the family Laridae.

Etymology

The genus name is from Ancient Greek Thalasseus, "fisherman" from thalassa, "sea". The specific bengalensis means "of Bengal", the type locality, historically referring to much of northern India and Bangladesh.[2]

Distribution

It breeds in subtropical coastal parts of the world mainly from the Red Sea across the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific, and Australia, with a significant population on the southern coast of the Mediterranean on two islands off the Libyan coast. It is an occasional vagrant to Europe,Template:Refn where it has been known to breed in pure and mixed (with Sandwich tern) pairs.[3][4][5] The Australian birds are probably sedentary, but other populations are migratory, wintering south to South Africa.

Subspecies

This bird has three geographical subspecies, differing mainly in size and minor plumage details:[6][7]

File:Thalasseus bengalensis MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.135.18.jpg
Thalasseus bengalensis egg, Muséum de Toulouse.

Description

File:Lesser crested terns (Thalasseus bengalensis) by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg
Lesser crested terns T. b. bengalensis in winter plumage, Akshi Beach, Maharashtra, India

This is a medium-large tern, 35–43 cm long and with a 88–105 cm wingspan; its weight ranges from 185–242 g.[7] It is very similar in size and general appearance to its three very close relatives Sandwich tern, Elegant tern and Chinese crested tern. The summer adult has a black cap, black legs and a long sharp orange bill. The upperwings, rump and central tail feathers are grey and the underparts white. The primary flight feathers darken during the summer. In winter, the forehead becomes white. The call is a loud grating noise like Sandwich tern.[8]

The grey rump is a useful flight identification feature distinguishing it from the related species. The Elegant tern also differs in a slightly longer, slenderer bill, while Chinese crested tern differs in a black tip to the bill and Sandwich tern a black bill with a yellow tip.[8]

Juvenile lesser crested terns resemble same-age Sandwich terns, but with a yellow-orange bill, and paler overall, with only faint dark crescents on the mantle feathers.

There are two other orange-billed terns within the range of this species, West African crested tern, and Greater crested tern. Both are larger and stouter-billed; West African crested tern also has a white rump and tail, while crested tern (which shares the grey rump) is darker overall above and has a yellower to greenish-yellow bill.[7]

Like all Thalasseus terns, lesser crested tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, usually from saline environments. It usually dives directly, and not from the "stepped-hover" favoured by Arctic tern. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.

This species breeds in dense colonies on coasts and islands. It nests in a ground scrape and lays one to two (rarely three) eggs. Nesting behaviour is very similar to that of Sandwich terns, with predator avoidance by nesting in very dense colonies, and also (in T. b. emigratus at least) by nesting in the late summer when predatory yellow-legged gulls have finished breeding and departed from the nesting area.[9]

Conservation

T. bengalensis is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies, and one of 10 marine bird species listed in Mediterranean marine birds Action Plan.[10]

In India the Lesser crested tern is protected in the PM Sayeed Marine Birds Conservation Reserve.[11]

Notes

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ Bridge, E. S.; Jones, A. W. & Baker, A. J. (2005). A phylogenetic framework for the terns (Sternini) inferred from mtDNA sequences: implications for taxonomy and plumage evolution Template:Webarchive. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35: 459–469.
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Further reading

  • Azafzaf, H., Etayeb, K. & Hamza, A. 2006: Report on the census of Lesser Crested Tern Sterna bengalensis in the Eastern coast of Libya. (1–7 August 2006). Unpublished report to Regional Activities Centre/Special Protected Areas (MAP/UNEP), Environment General Agency (Libya) and African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (UNEP/AEWA). 18 pp with map and four Appendices.
  • Baker N.E (1984). Lesser Crested Tern in Bengazi, Libya. Bull. Orn. Soc. Middle East.
  • Hamza, A., H. Azafzaf, N. Baccetti, E.M. Bourass, J. J.Borg, P. Defos du Rau, A. Saied, J. Sultana, M. Zenatello (2008) Report on census and ringing of Lesser Crested Tern in Libya (2-10 Aug. 2007), with a preliminary inventory of Libyan islands. UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA and EGA. Tech. Report.
  • Moltoni E. (1938). Escursione ornitologica all'Isola degli Uccelli (Golfo della Gran Sirte, Cirenaica). Riv. Ital. Orn 8 : 1-16.

External links

Template:Sister project Template:Sister project

Template:Taxonbar

Retrieved from "http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=Lesser_crested_tern&oldid=4758232"