Terns (Sternidae)
Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) - HBW 3, p. 645
French: Sterne hansel
German: Lachseeschwalbe
Spanish: Pagaza Piconegra
Taxonomy: Sterna nilotica Gmelin, 1789, Egypt.
Along with Hydroprogne and Thalasseus, genus often merged with Sterna; behaviour intermediate between typical terns and crested terns, and unique combination of characters supports separate generic treatment. Listed as G. anglica in many older works. Proposed race affinis for birds of E Asia and SE China is not separable. Six subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- nilotica (Gmelin, 1789) - Europe S to Mauritania and Tunisia, and E through Middle East, Kazakhstan and Indian Subcontinent to NW China; winters from tropical Africa through Persian Gulf to India.
- addenda Mathews, 1912 - Transbaikalia, Manchuria and E China (Fuzhou to Hainan); winters mainly SE Asia.
- macrotarsa (Gould, 1837) - Australia.
- nilotica (Gmelin, 1789) - Europe S to Mauritania and Tunisia, and E through Middle East, Kazakhstan and Indian Subcontinent to NW China; winters from tropical Africa through Persian Gulf to India.
- addenda Mathews, 1912 - Transbaikalia, Manchuria and E China (Fuzhou to Hainan); winters mainly SE Asia.
- macrotarsa (Gould, 1837) - Australia.
- aranea (Wilson, 1814) - New Jersey (rarely New York) S to Texas, Cuba, Bahamas and Puerto Rico, and sparsely along Mexican coast to Yucatán; winters along Central American coasts and S to Brazil and Peru.
- vanrossemi Bancroft, 1929 - California (coastal plain and Salton Sea) to N Baja California and Sinaloa (and probably S to Gulf of Tehuantepec), with isolated breeding recorded in Alaska (Copper R Delta); winters S to Ecuador.
- groenvoldi Mathews, 1912 - coast and river valleys from French Guiana (Cayenne) to NE Argentina (Buenos Aires); Ecuador and N Peru breeders may be this race or vanrossemi, or an undescribed race.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A bird preening on a sand-bar, standing beside another bird Locality Letitia Sandspit, Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Australia (ssp macrotarsa)
Nick Talbot 23 April 2006 6 years ago 17 sec 4.7 -
A bird in non-breeding plumage catching a crab on the reef and flying to eat it at the shore, then cleaning its beak. Locality Babar, Lesser Sundas (ssp macrotarsa)
Josep del Hoyo 31 October 2011 1 year ago 41 sec 4.3 -
A bird flying and searching for a prey Locality Cairns, Queensland, Australia (ssp macrotarsa)
Peter Nash 19 October 2006 6 years ago 38 sec 4.1 -
An immature bird standing on a sand-bar Locality Letitia Sandspit, Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Australia (ssp macrotarsa)
Nick Talbot 23 April 2006 6 years ago 14 sec 4.1 -
A bird in non-breeding plumage on a reef, looking around and flying away. Locality Babar, Lesser Sundas (ssp macrotarsa)
Josep del Hoyo 31 October 2011 1 year ago 37 sec 4 -
A bird preening on a sand-bar Locality Letitia Sandspit, Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Australia (ssp macrotarsa)
Nick Talbot 23 April 2006 6 years ago 15 sec 3.8
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A juvenile eating a frog
Locality Lisbon Region, Portugal
Jose Viana 11 August 2005 3 years ago 4.4 -
Non breeding
Locality Tendaba, Lower River Division , The Gambia
Paul Cools 9 February 2012 31 weeks ago 4.3 -
standing
Locality Eilat, Israel
Lior Kislev 6 April 2010 1 year ago 4.3 -
Sitting on the beach
Locality Al Wakrah Beach, Al Wakrah, Qatar
John A Thompson 7 October 2010 2 years ago 4.2 -
In flight
Locality Delawella, Southern Province, Sri Lanka
Guy Poisson 20 January 2011 2 years ago 4 -
Breeding and non-breeding plumage.
Locality Cairns Esplenade, Cairns, Queensland, Australia (ssp macrotarsa)
Fran Trabalon 20 October 2007 2 years ago 3.8
- No sound recordings available yet
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