| Little white tern | |
|---|---|
.JPG) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Laridae |
| Genus: | Gygis |
| Species: | G. microrhyncha |
| Binomial name | |
| Gygis microrhyncha Saunders, 1876 | |
Thelittle white tern (Gygis microrhyncha) is a smallseabird found inFrench Polynesia and the Republic ofKiribati.[1] This species was previously considered a subspecies of thewhite tern (Gygis alba microrhyncha), but is now recognised as a separate species.[2]
The little white tern was firstformally described by the British ornithologistHoward Saunders in 1876 under the binomial nameGygis microrhyncha[3] meaning small (micro) bill (rhyncha). There are no recognized subspecies.
The little white tern is much smaller and has a more slender bill than any subspecies of the common white tern.[4] It has been described as a "compact, goggle-eyed bird with shorter, more rounded wings and less deeply forked tail" when compared toGygis alba.[5] The calamus or 'quill' of the feather in the little white tern are notably white compared to black calamus found in common white terns.[6]
The little white tern ranges throughout French Polynesia and the Republic of Kiribati, including thePhoenix andLine Islands,[7] and was first described from three specimens from theMarquesas Islands.
