Little white tern | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Laridae |
Genus: | Gygis |
Species: | G. candida |
Binomial name | |
Gygis candida Gmelin, 1789 | |
little white tern (Gygis candida) is a small seabird found in Pacific Ocean. [1] This species was previously considered as the white tern (Gygis alba), but is now recognised as a separate species. [2]
The little white tern was first formally described by the German ornithologist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. The species epithet is from Latin candidus (white). There are two recognized subspecies. [1] Some authors have postulated that there may be three species of Gygis: Gygis alba , in the Atlantic Ocean, and Gygis candida and Gygis microrhyncha , both in the Pacific. [2]
The little white tern has a shorter and more conical bill than the common white tern. [1]
The little white tern ranges throughout the Pacific Ocean.
Laridae is a family of seabirds in the order Charadriiformes that includes the gulls, terns, noddies, skimmers, and kittiwakes. It includes around 100 species arranged into 22 genera. They are an adaptable group of mostly aerial birds found worldwide.
The little gull, is a species of gull belonging to the family Laridae which is mainly found in the Palearctic with some colonies in North America. It breeds on freshwaters and spends winters at sea. It is the smallest species of gull in the world and the only species in the monospecific genus Hydrocoloeus.
The bridled tern is a seabird of the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus comes from onux meaning "claw" or "nail", and prion, meaning "saw". The specific anaethetus means "senseless, stupid".
The sooty tern is a seabird in the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans, returning to land only to breed on islands throughout the equatorial zone.
The greater crested tern, also called crested tern or swift tern, is a tern in the family Laridae that nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World. Its five subspecies breed in the area from South Africa around the Indian Ocean to the central Pacific and Australia, all populations dispersing widely from the breeding range after nesting. This large tern is closely related to the royal and lesser crested terns, but can be distinguished by its size and bill colour.
The white tern or common white tern is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. It is sometimes known as the fairy tern, although this name is potentially confusing as it is also the common name of Sternula nereis. Other names for the species include angel tern and white noddy in English, and manu-o-Kū in Hawaiian. The little white tern, previously considered a subspecies of the white tern, is now recognised as a separate species.
Cassin's auklet is a small, chunky seabird that ranges widely in the North Pacific. It is the only species placed in the genus Ptychoramphus. It nests in small burrows and because of its presence on well studied islands in British Columbia and off California it is one of the better known auks. It is named for the American ornithologist John Cassin.
The black noddy, also known as white-capped noddy, is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is a medium-sized seabird with black plumage and a white cap that closely resembles the lesser noddy with which it was at one time considered conspecific. The black noddy has slightly darker plumage and dark rather than pale lores.
The great frigatebird is a large seabird in the frigatebird family. There are major nesting populations in the tropical Pacific Ocean, such as Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands; in the Indian Ocean, colonies can be found in the Seychelles and Mauritius, and there is a tiny population in the South Atlantic, mostly on and around St. Helena and Boatswain Bird Island.
The Phoenix petrel is a medium-sized tropical seabird, measuring up to 35 cm (1.15 ft) long, with a wingspan of 83 cm (2.72 ft). It has a dark brown upperparts plumage, white below and whitish throat. The sexes are similar.
The Antarctic tern is a seabird in the family Laridae. It ranges throughout the southern oceans and is found on small islands around Antarctica as well as on the shores of the mainland. Its diet consists primarily of small fish and crustaceans. It is very similar in appearance to the closely related Arctic tern, but it is stockier, and it is in its breeding plumage in the southern summer, when the Arctic tern has shed old feathers to get its non-breeding plumage. The Antarctic tern does not migrate like the Arctic tern does, but it can still be found on a very large range. This tern species is actually more closely related to the South American tern.
White terns comprise the two species of terns in the genus Gygis. The best known species in the genus is the common white tern. The little white tern, previously considered a subspecies of the white tern, is now recognised as a second species of white tern.
The little white tern is a small seabird found in French Polynesia and the Republic of Kiribati. This species was previously considered a subspecies of the white tern, but is now recognised as a separate species.
Saunders's tern, sometimes known as the black-shafted tern, is a species of bird in the family Laridae. It is sparsely resident along the shores of the north-western Indian Ocean.
The black-naped tern is an oceanic tern mostly found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is rarely found inland.