Swallow-tailed gull

Swallow-tailed gull
On the Galápagos Islands
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Creagrus
Bonaparte, 1854
Species:
C. furcatus
Binomial name
Creagrus furcatus
(Neboux, 1842)

The swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus) is an equatorial seabird in the gull family, Laridae. It is the only species in the genus Creagrus, which derives from the Latin Creagra and the Greek kreourgos which means butcher, also from kreas, meat; according to Jobling it would mean "hook for meat" referring to the hooked bill of this species.[2] It was first described by French naturalist and surgeon Adolphe-Simon Neboux in 1846. Its scientific name is originally derived from the Greek word for gull, "Glaros" and via Latin Larus, "gull" and furca "two-tined fork".[3] It spends most of its life flying and hunting over the open ocean. The main breeding location is in the Galápagos Islands, particularly the rocky shores and cliffs of Hood, Tower and Wolf Islands, with lower numbers on most of the other islands. It is more common on the eastern islands where the water is warmer.[4]

It is the only fully nocturnal gull and seabird in the world,[5] preying on squid and small fish which rise to the surface at night to feed on plankton.[6]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2018). "Creagrus furcatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22694493A132556163. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22694493A132556163.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Tarsicio Granizo, 2009. Etimologia de nombres cientificos de las aves del Ecuador, ISBN 978-9978-9959-0-7
  3. ^ Simpson DP (1979). Cassell's Latin Dictionary (5th ed.). London: Cassell Ltd. p. 883. ISBN 0-304-52257-0.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jackson1993 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Harris70 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kricher2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).