Thelittle tern (Sternula albifrons) is aseabird of the familyLaridae. It was first described by the German naturalistPeter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given thebinomial nameSterna albifrons.[2][3][4] It was moved to the genusSternula when the genusSterna was restricted to the larger typical terns.[5] The genus nameSternula is a diminutive ofSterna, 'tern', while the specific namealbifrons is fromLatinalbus, 'white', andfrons, 'forehead'.[6]
Thisbird breeds on the coasts and inland waterways of temperate and tropicalEurope,Asia, north and westAfrica, and easternAustralia. It is stronglymigratory, wintering in the subtropical and tropical oceans as far south asSouth Africa andAustralia.
ThenominateS. a. albifrons occurs in Europe to North Africa and western Asia
S. a. guineae of western Africa
S. a. sinensis in eastern Asia (SE Russia to Japan, SE Asia, Philippines) south to New Guinea and northern Australia
S. a. placens on the east coast of Australia and Tasmania.[7][8]
The formerNorth American subspecies (S. a. antillarum) andRed Sea subspeciesS. a. saundersi are now considered to be separate species, theleast tern (Sternula antillarum) andSaunders's tern (Sternula saundersi), respectively.
This is a small tern, 21–25 cm long with a 41–47 cm wingspan. It is not likely to be confused with other species, apart from fairy tern and Saunders's tern, because of its size and white forehead in breeding plumage. Its thin sharp bill is yellow with a black tip and its legs are also yellow. In winter, the forehead is more extensively white, the bill is black and the legs duller.
The little tern breeds in colonies on gravel or shingle coasts and islands. It lays two to four eggs on the ground. Like all white terns, it is defensive of its nest and young and will attack intruders.
Like most other white terns, the little tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, either in coastal saline environments, or inland, along larger rivers. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.
The call is a loud and distinctive creaking noise.
At the beginning of the 19th century the little tern was a common bird of European shores, rivers and wetlands, but in the 20th century populations of coastal areas decreased because of habitat loss, pollution and human disturbance.
The loss of inland populations has been even more severe, since due to dams, river regulation and sediment extraction it has lost most of its former habitats. The little tern population has declined or become extinct in many European countries, and former breeding places on large rivers like theDanube,Elbe andRhine ceased. Nowadays, only a few river systems in Europe possess suitable habitats; the Loire/Allier inFrance, the Vistula/Odra inPoland, the Po/Ticino inItaly, the Daugava inLatvia, the Nemunas inLithuania, the Sava inCroatia and the Drava inHungary and Croatia. The status of the little tern on the rivers Tagus and lower Danube is uncertain.
The Drava population is one of the most threatened. Old-fashioned water management practices, including river regulation and sediment extraction, endanger the remaining pairs. Only 15 pairs still breed on extensive sand or gravel banks along the border between Hungary and Croatia. TheWWF and its partners are involved in working for the protection of this bird and this unique European river ecosystem. The little tern is one of the species to which theAgreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
^Higgins, P.J. & S.J.J.F. Davies (eds) 1996. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 3: Snipe to Pigeons. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.ISBN0-19-553070-5
_6.jpg)
.jpg)
