Sterna fuscata

History:

• 1988-Lower Risk/least concern (BirdLife International 2004)
• 1994-Lower Risk/least concern (BirdLife International 2004)
• 2000-Lower Risk/least concern (BirdLife International 2000)

Justification

This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 1,000,000¿10,000,000 km². It has a large global population estimated to be 21,000,000¿22,000,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2002). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Taxonomy

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001

Physical Description

Family Laridae:

Medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills, and webbed feet.

Images:

Distribution

Range and Population

North America; Oceania

Habitat

Biome

Terrestrial; Marine

Diet

Almost Exclusively:

Fish Lesser Quantities of: Aquatic Invertebrates

Reproduction

• Clutch Size: 1
• Length of Incubation: 27-30 days
• Days to Fledge: 56
• Number of Broods: 1?

Migration

Migratory

Similar Species

Bridled Tern

Members of the genus Sterna:

There are approximately 166 species and subspecies in this genus. Here are just 100 of them: S. acuticauda (Black-Bellied Tern) · S. affinis · S. alb · S. alb antillarum · S. albifrons (Least Tern) · S. albifrons albifrons (Little Tern) · S. albifrons antillarum (Little Tern) · S. albifrons athalassos (Little Tern) · S. albifrons browni · S. albifrons guineae · S. albifrons praetermissa · S. albifrons saundersi · S. albifrons sinensis · S. albistriata · S. albistriata nubilosa · S. albostriata (Black-Fronted Tern) · S. aleutica (Aleutian Tern) · S. anaesthetus anaesthetus · S. anaetheta (Bridled Tern) · S. anaethetus (Bridled Tern) · S. anaethetus anaethetus · S. anaethetus antarctica · S. anaethetus fuligula · S. anaethetus melanoptera · S. anaethetus nelsoni · S. anaethetus recognita (Bridled Tern) · S. anaethetus ssp · S. anathetus · S. anglica · S. anosthaetus · S. antarctica · S. antillarum (Least Tern) · S. antillarum albifrons · S. antillarum anthalassos · S. antillarum antillarum (Least Tern) · S. antillarum athalassos (Interior Least Tern) · S. antillarum browni (California Least Tern) · S. antillarum mexicana · S. antillarum ssp · S. aurantia (River Tern) · S. balaenarum (Damara Tern) · S. bengalensis (Lesser Crested-Tern) · S. bengalensis bengalensis · S. bengalensis par · S. bengalensis torresii · S. bergii (Great Crested Tern) · S. bergii bergii · S. bergii cristata · S. bergii cristatus · S. bergii gwendolenae · S. bergii thalassina · S. bergii velox · S. bernsteini (Chinese Crested Tern) · S. beryii · S. caspia (Caspian Tern) · S. caspia caspia · S. caspia imperator · S. cautiaca · S. dougalli · S. dougalli bangsi · S. dougalli dougalli · S. dougallii (Roseate) · S. dougallii arideensis · S. dougallii bangsi · S. dougallii dougalli · S. dougallii dougallii (Roseate Tern) · S. dougallii gracilis · S. dougallii korustes · S. dougallii pacificus · S. elegans (Elegant Tern) · S. elegans (Cayenne Tern) · S. forsteri (Forster's Tern) · S. fuliginosa · S. fuscata (Sooty Tern) · S. fuscata crissalis (Sooty Tern) · S. fuscata fuscata (Sooty Tern) · S. fuscata kermadeci · S. fuscata nubilosa · S. fuscata nubirosa · S. fuscata oahuensis · S. fuscata serrata · S. fuscata ssp · S. grisea · S. hirundinacea (South American Tern) · S. hirundo (Common Tern) · S. hirundo hirundo (Common Tern) · S. hirundo longipennis · S. hirundo minussensis · S. hirundo ssp · S. hirundo tibetana · S. hybrida · S. javanica · S. lercoptera · S. leucoptera · S. longipennis · S. lorata (Peruvian Tern) · S. lunata (Gray-Backed Tern) · S. macrura · S. maxima (Royal Tern) · S. maxima albididorsalis

Bibliography

• Alsop, Fred J. III. Birds of North America - Eastern Region. First American Edition. Smithsonian Handbooks. DK Publishing, Inc. 2001.
• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, A. L. Gardner, and W. C. Starnes 2003. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada.
• BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
• Ehrlich, P., Dobkin, D., and Wheye, D. (1988). The Birders Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc. (info on clutch size, length of incubation, days to fledge and number of broods.)
• Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc. (Length and wingspan info.)

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Notes

Contributors:

• BirdLife International 2004. Sterna fuscata. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org . Downloaded on 21 October 2006.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed November 8, 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 10, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 14 providers.
• Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
• NatureServe. 2003. Downloadable animal data sets. NatureServe Central Databases. Accessed February 6, 2005.
• Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 10, 2008:

• Australian Antarctic Data Centre: Seabirds of the Southern and South Indian Ocean
• Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
• Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
• Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum: Bishop Museum Natural History Specimen Data
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
• EMAN Provider: PIROP (Shipboard Surveys)
• European Environment Agency: EUNIS
• GBIF-Sweden: Birds (GBIF-SE:Artdatabanken)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: A Biological Survey of the Waters of Woods Hole and Vacinity
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: SEAMAP - marine mammals, birds and turtles
• Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Ornithology Collection
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• OZCAM (Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums) Provider: Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• Senckenberg: Collection Aves (spirit preserved)
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens

Identifiers:

• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 176894
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 238301
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABNNM08150
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 10224