Whiskered tern

Whiskered tern
C. h. delalandii summer (breeding) plumage, South Africa
C. h. hybrida winter (non-breeding) plumage, Sri Lanka
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Chlidonias
Species:
C. hybrida
Binomial name
Chlidonias hybrida
(Pallas, 1811)
Subspecies
  • C. h. hybrida – (Pallas, 1811)
    (Eurasian Whiskered Tern)
  • C. h. delalandii – (Mathews, 1912)
    (African Whiskered Tern)
  • C. h. javanicus – (Horsfield, 1821)
    (Australasian Whiskered Tern)
Range of Ch. hybrida
  Breeding
  Resident
  Non-breeding
  Vagrant (seasonality uncertain)
Synonyms
  • Chlidonias hybridus

The whiskered tern (Chlidonias hybrida) is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khelidonios, "swallow-like", from khelidon, "swallow". The specific hybridus is Latin for hybrid; Peter Simon Pallas thought it might be a hybrid of white-winged black tern and common tern, writing "Sterna fissipes [Chlidonias leucopterus] et Hirundine [Sterna hirundo] natam".[2]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2017). "Chlidonias hybrida". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22694764A111750380. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22694764A111750380.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 102, 196. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.