Sterna albifrons albifrons

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Biology

Reproduction

Little Tern courtship is mediated by fish. Females stand on the beach (``I'm here, I'm here!'') keeping their competitors at a distance (``Get away from me, you hussy!''). A male flies in with a minnow draped in his beak (``I've got a fish, I've got a fish!'') and finds a female who will accept it (``I've got a fish!'' ``I'm here!'' etc. ). The male flies back out to sea (``Yes yes yes she took my fish!'').

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Sterna albifrons Pallas 1764

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: June 24, 1996.

Similar Species

Members of the genus Sterna

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 63 species and subspecies in this genus:

S. acuticauda (Black-Bellied Tern) · S. albifrons (Little Striker) · S. albifrons albifrons (Little Tern) · S. albifrons athalassos (Little Tern) · S. albistriata (Black-Fronted Tern) · S. albostriata (Saunder's Little Tern) · S. aleutica (Aleutian Tern) · S. anaetheta (Bridled Tern) · S. anaethetus (Brown-Winged Tern) · S. anaethetus anaethetus (Brown-Winged Tern) · S. anaethetus recognita (Bridled Tern) · S. antillarum (American Least Tern) · S. antillarum albifrons (Little Tern) · S. antillarum antillarum (Least Tern) · S. antillarum athalassos (Interior Least Tern) · S. antillarum browni (California Least Tern) · S. aurantia (Indian River Tern) · S. balaenarum (Damara Tern) · S. bengalensis (Lesser Crester Tern) · S. bengalensis bengalensis (Lesser Crester Tern) · S. bergii (Greater Crested Tern) · S. bergii bergii (Greater Crested Tern) · S. bernsteini (Chinese Crested-Tern) · S. caspia (Caspian Tern) · S. caspia caspia (Caspian Tern) · S. dougallii (Roseate) · S. dougallii dougallii (Roseate Tern) · (Elegant Tern) · S. eurygnatha (Cayenne Tern) · S. forsteri (ForsterÌs Tern) · S. fuscata (Wide-Awake) · S. fuscata crissalis (Sooty Tern) · S. fuscata fuscata (Sooty Tern) · S. hirundinacea (South American Tern) · S. hirundo (Lake Erie Gull) · S. hirundo hirundo (Common Tern) · S. lorata (Peruvian Tern) · S. lunata (Grey-Backed Tern) · S. maxima (Royal Tern) · S. maxima maxima (Royal Tern) · S. melanogaster (Black-Bellied Tern) · S. nereis (Fairy Tern) · S. nereis nereis (Fairy Tern) · S. nilotica (Bulled-Billed Tern) · S. nilotica groenvoldi (Gull-Billed Tern) · S. nilotica nilotica (Gull-Billed Tern) · S. nilotica vanrossemi (Gull-Billed Tern) · S. paradisaea (Crimson-Billed Tern) · S. repressa (White-Cheeked Tern) · S. sandvicensis (Caribbean Tern) · S. sandvicensis eurygnatha (Sandwich Tern) · S. sandvicensis sandvicensis (Caribbean Tern) · S. saundersi (Saunders' Little Tern) · S. striata (White-Fronted Tern) · S. striata striata (White-Fronted Tern) · S. sumatrana (Black-Naped Tern) · S. sumatrana sumatrana (Black-Naped Tern) · S. superciliaris (Yellow-Billed Tern) · S. trudeaui (Snowy-Crowned Tern) · S. virgata (Kerguelen Tern) · S. vittata (Antarctic Tern) · S. vittata vittata (Antarctic Tern) · S. zimmermanni (Chinese Crested-Tern)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A hand-list of genera and species of birds of the Indian empire, by E. C. Stuart Baker. .. Bombay, Printed by order of the committee of the Bombay natural history society[1923] url p. 225.
• A handbook to the vertebrate fauna of north Wales. London, Witherby & Co., 1919. url p. 70.
• Birds of the Chukchi Peninsula and Wrangel Island = (Ptitsy Chukotskogo poluostrova i ostrova Vrangelya) / L.A. Portenko; translated from Russian [by P.M. Rao]. New Delhi: Published for the Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., by Amerind Pub. Co., 1981- url p. 347.
• British birds. London, Witherby & Co. url p. 9.
• Check-list of birds of the world. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1931-1987. url p. 340.
• Ibis. [London]Published for the British Ornithologists' Union by Academic Press. url p. 430.
• Journal of the Federated Malay States Museums. Kuala Lumpur: the Museums, 1905-1936. url p. 324.
• The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Bombay: The Society, url p. 872.
• The Journal of the Natural History Society of Siam. [Bangkok, Thailand]: The Society, url p. 211.
• The Scottish naturalist. Arbroath [etc.]T. Buncle & Co. [etc.] url p. 138, p. 139, p. 198, p. 211.
• The journal of the Natural History Society of Siam. [London: Luzac, 1914]-1924. url p. 211.
• Types of birds in the Tring Museum. n. p., 1922? url .

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 9, 2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 14, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 3 providers.
• Tony Phillips

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2764209
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-176903
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13888604
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 176903
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 142836

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.