Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida)

The Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida) is a pale grey above, white below, white head, streaked black at rear with distinctive black band from eye to nape, sometimes described as a tubby marsh tern. They have short, slightly forked tail. The bill and legs are dark red to black. The body size approximately 25 cm, with wing span to 78 cm. The adults in breeding plumage have a black cap, to eye level where it meets the white cheeks; pale grey above and mostly grey below.

This bird have a number of geographical races, that is evident mainly in size and minor plumage details. The Whiskered Tern from Java to Australia (C. h. javanicus) is paler.

They are gregarious birds, often found in small to large flocks and will often associate with other terns. The Whiskered Terns forage on terrestrial wetlands with vegetated margins, eating insects, crustaceans, fish and other small vertebrates, including frogs. They can be seen forage from the air, dipping to collect prey from the surface of the water.

The Whiskered Tern have a preference for shallow terrestrial freshwater wetlands, freshwater swamps, saline wetlands, floodwaters, sewage farms, irrigated croplands and large dams.

In Australia, the Whiskered Tern can be found scattered across most mainland regions, except for arid zones. They have been sighted in the sewerage ponds in Alice Springs, Central Australia, usually on their migratory path heading north in winter to northern Australia and parts of New Guinea and Indonesia.

Check out our Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida) at the Ponds in Alice Springs.

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• Scientific classification
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Subphylum: Vertebrata
• Informal: Gnathostomata
• Class: Aves
• Order: Charadriiformes
• Family: Laridae
• Subfamily: Sterninae
• Tribe: Sternini
• Genus: Chlidonias
• Species: Chlidonias hybrida
• Subspecies:
  • Chlidonias (Pelodes) hybrida javanicus (Horsfield, 1821)
  • Chlidonias hybridus javanicus Horsfield

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