Chinese crested tern
Chinese crested tern | |
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A Chinese crested tern among greater crested terns | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Laridae |
Genus: | Thalasseus |
Species: | T. bernsteini
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Binomial name | |
Thalasseus bernsteini (Schlegel, 1863)
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Synonyms | |
Sterna bernsteini Schlegel, 1863 |
The Chinese crested tern (Thalasseus bernsteini) is a
Description
It is closely related to the Sandwich tern, T. sandvicensis, and the lesser crested tern, T. bengalensis. It is most similar to the former, differing only in the bill pattern, which is the reverse of the Sandwich tern's, being yellow with a black tip. From the lesser crested tern, which it overlaps in wintering distribution, it can be told by the white rump and paler grey mantle, as well as the black tip to the bill, which seen from up close also has a white point. The larger greater crested tern is also similar, differing in its stouter, all-yellow bill and darker grey mantle and rump, as well as in size.
Distribution and conservation
It is a
In 2007 it was estimated that the Chinese crested tern would be
It is currently threatened by illegal egg collection, typhoons, and disturbance of nesting colonies by fishermen. There is also a threat of hybridization with the greater crested tern.[3]
In 2016, for the first time, Chinese crested terns were found breeding in South Korea. Setting up a new colony in such a faraway area would prove a boon for the species.[4]
Philippines
This “bird of legend's” first recorded sighting in the Philippines was in 1886 and then in 1905 (the year Daniel Burnham made the City Beautiful masterplan) in Manila Bay. In 1937 it came back, again spotted in March 2018, and along the coastal wetlands of Panabo, Davao del Norte in November 2019 with other migratory birds. It was found along the shores of Lingayen Gulf on August, 2021 with other rare visitors in the area including the Aleutian tern (Onychoprion aleuticus), Greater scaup (Aythya marila), and Lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus) and Slaty-backed gull (Larus schistisagus). .[5][6]
Three birds were spotted at the mouth of Davao River in 2022 during the Annual Asian Waterfowl Census for migratory birds.[7]
The
References
- 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. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35: 459–469. PDF fulltext
- . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ Chinese seabird on verge of extinction
- S2CID 90714317.
- ^ International, BirdLife. "A tern for the better | BirdLife". www.birdlife.org. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
- ^ Limos, Mariano (August 23, 2021). "Extremely rare bird sighted in Pangasinan". Esquire.
- ^ Hutchington, Robert (August 23, 2021). "Endangered bird spotted in Pangasinan". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
- ^ Colina, Antonio (January 26, 2023). "3 Chinese "Birds of Legend" seen in Davao Region". MindaNews.
- ^ Mangaluz, Jean (January 16, 2024). "Rare 'birds of legend' spotted in Davao region". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
- ^ Gozum, Iya (January 29, 2024). "More than 100 years after first sighting in Manila Bay, rare bird reappears". Rappler.