Sternula

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Sternula
Sternula albifrons 2 - Little Swanport.jpg
Little tern
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Subfamily: Sterninae
Genus: Sternula
F. Boie, 1822
Type species
Sterna minuta [1]
Linnaeus, 1766
Species

7, see text

Sternula is a genus of small white terns, with a global distribution along sheltered sandy coasts and large rivers.

The seven species are all closely related, with similar plumage and size, all are between 22–28 cm long and 39–63 g weight. All are pale grey above, and white or very pale grey below; in all the outer primaries are darker grey (to nearly blackish), but the number of primaries that are dark varies slightly between the species. Most have a distinctive head pattern in the breeding season, with a black crown and eyeline, and a white forehead; one (fairy tern) differs in lacking the black eye line, and one (Damara tern) has a fully black crown with no white forehead in the breeding season. The legs and bill are mostly yellow (with or without a black tip) in the breeding season, but black in Damara tern. In all species the winter plumage has a more extensive white forehead, the bill is black, and the legs darker red-brown to blackish. [2]

Although the genus was first described in 1822 by Friedrich Boie, the species in the genus were generally retained within the larger genus Sterna , the genus that holds most terns, until a study in 2005 showed that this treatment was paraphyletic, with these seven species less closely related to typical Sterna terns, than several other terns long treated in other genera like Chlidonias and Larosterna . [3]

Sternula diverged early from other terns about 16 million years ago, with only the very different noddies (Anous and Gygis), and the 'brown-backed' Onychoprion terns diverging earlier. [4] Despite the early origin of the genus, the current diversity within the genus is much more recent, with the species having a common ancestor around 4 million years ago. [4] Saunders's and least terns were both formerly considered to be subspecies of little tern. [2]

The genus name is a diminutive of Sterna , "tern". [5]

Species

Seven species are accepted by the IOC World Bird List: [6]

Genus Sternula F. Boie, 1822 – seven species
Common nameScientific name and subspeciesRangeSize and ecologyIUCN status and estimated population
Little tern

Charrancito Sternula albifrons 1.jpg

Sternula albifrons
(Pallas, 1764)

Four subspecies
  • S. a. albifrons(Pallas, 1764)
  • S. a. guineae(Bannerman, 1931)
  • S. a. placensGould, 1871
  • S. a. sinensis(J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
temperate and tropical Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
SternulaAlbifronsIUCN.png
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Saunders's tern

Saunders's Tern (Sternula saundersi) in flight, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.jpg

Sternula saundersi
(Hume, 1877)
north-western Indian OceanSize:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Least tern

Least Tern RWD22.jpg

Sternula antillarum
Lesson, 1847

Three subspecies
  • S. a. athalassos(Burleigh & Lowery, 1942)
  • S. a. antillarum(Lesson, 1847)
  • S. a. browni(Mearns, 1916)
North America and locally in northern South America.
Sternula antillarum map.svg
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Yellow-billed tern

Yellow-billed tern Sternula superciliaris.jpg

Sternula superciliaris
(Vieillot, 1819)
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Sternula superciliaris map.svg
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Peruvian tern

Peruvian Tern (cropped).JPG

Sternula lorata
(Philippi & Landbeck, 1861)
Chile, Ecuador, and Peru
Sternula lorata map.svg
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 EN 


Fairy tern

New Zealand Fairy Tern on shell-beach (cropped).jpg

Sternula nereis
(Gould, 1843)

Three subspecies
Australia, New Caledonia,northern New ZealandSize:

Habitat:

Diet:
 VU 


Damara tern

Damara Tern (8077271589) (cropped).jpg

Sternula balaenarum
Strickland, 1853
southern Africa and migrates to tropical African coastsSize:

Habitat:

Diet:
 VU 


References

  1. "Laridae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  2. 1 2 Hoyo, Josep del; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi (1992). Handbook of the Birds of the World: Hoatzin to auks. Barcelona: Lynx edicions. p. 656–659. ISBN   84-87334-20-2.
  3. 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 Archived 2006-07-20 at the Wayback Machine . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution35: 459–469.
  4. 1 2 Černý, David; Natale, Rossy (2022). "Comprehensive taxon sampling and vetted fossils help clarify the time tree of shorebirds (Aves, Charadriiformes)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 177: 107620. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107620 . Retrieved 2025-02-22.
  5. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p.  365. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. "Noddies, skimmers, gulls, terns, skuas, auks – IOC World Bird List". IOC World Bird List – Version 14.2. 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-02-26.