Little Tern Did you see this animal?
Scientific Name : Sternula albifrons
Family : Laridae
Order : Charadriiformes
Class : Aves
Phylum : Chordata
Habitat : Rivers
Description : The Little Tern is a small grey and white waterbird whose bill colour changes from yellow to black with season (adult bird length approximately 23 cm, wing 17 cm, bill 3 cm, tarsus 1.6 cm, tail: 4.5 cm, outer 8.4 cm, depth of fork 3.6 cm). In the breeding season, it has a velvety-black cap and white forehead. It feeds on small fish, crustaceans and aquatic insects. The little tern forms colonies on coastlines and islands characterized by gravel or shingle. It chooses the ground as the preferred location to lay its clutch of two to four eggs. As a member of the white tern family, it exhibits a defensive nature towards its nest and offspring, often resorting to attacking intruders.
Distribution in Bangladesh
Other Species from Group
-
Stercorarius parasiticus
(Arctic (Parasitic) Jaeger (Skua)) -
Rynchops albicollis
(Indian Skimmer) -
Sterna sumatrana
(Black‑naped Tern) -
Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus
(Brown‑headed Gull) -
Rissa tridactyla
(Black-legged Kittiwake) -
Larus fuscus
(Lesser Black-backed (Heuglin’s) Gull) -
Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus
(Pallas’s (Great Black‑headed ) Gull) -
Gelochelidon nilotica
(Common Gull‑billed Tern) -
Sterna aurantia
(River Tern) -
Sterna hirundo
(Common Tern)
Species groups
-
Bee-eaters -
Booby -
frigatebird -
phalarope -
tropicbird -
Martins and Swallows -
Crows, Drongos & allies -
Woodpeckers -
Eared Nightjars -
Ibises & Spoonbills -
Trogons -
Coucals -
Pelicans -
Darters -
Gulls -
Warblers and allies -
Flowerpeckers & Sunbirds -
Sparrows, Wagtails, Pipits a& allies -
moonbird -
Hawks & Eagles -
Snipes, Sandpipers, Plovers & allies -
Small Kingfishers -
Cisticola & Prinia -
Plovers & Lapwings -
Rails, Gallinules & Coots -
Tits -
Parrots -
Rosefinches and Buntings -
Bustards -
Grebes -
Pheasants & Partridges -
Old World flycatcher -
Starlings and Mynas -
Hornbills -
Buttonquails -
Rollers -
Bluebirds -
Crested Kingfishers -
Cormorants -
Pigeons and Doves -
Jacanas -
Typical Owl -
Finfoots &booby -
Flamingo -
Herons and Bitterns -
Treecreepers -
Nuthatch -
Barbets -
Treeswifts -
Swifts -
Crab-plovers, Coursers and Pratincoles -
Bulbuls -
Frogmouths -
Larks -
Storks -
Broadbills -
Thick-knees -
Painted-snipes -
Nightjars -
Barn-owls -
Large-billed Kingfishers -
Falcons -
Pittas -
Cranes -
Whistling-ducks -
Ducks, Geese & Swans -
Hoopoe
References:
description written by:Fatema-Tuz-Zohora,Department of Zoology, Jagannath University,Dhaka;information source: Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh, Vol-26, iucnredlist.org;Photo credit and copyright:MSH Sourav (TU Dresden, Germany);taxonomic checklist:P. M. Thompson and S. U. Chowdhury (2020). A checklist of birds of Bangladesh.Birds Bangladesh;bird song owner:Stanislas Wroza(www.xeno-canto.org/Stanislas Wroza), bird sound copyright reserved according to www.xeno-canto.org rules; more information, please contact us.
description written by:Fatema-Tuz-Zohora,Department of Zoology, Jagannath University,Dhaka;information source: Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh, Vol-26, iucnredlist.org;Photo credit and copyright:MSH Sourav (TU Dresden, Germany);taxonomic checklist:P. M. Thompson and S. U. Chowdhury (2020). A checklist of birds of Bangladesh.Birds Bangladesh;bird song owner:Stanislas Wroza(www.xeno-canto.org/Stanislas Wroza), bird sound copyright reserved according to www.xeno-canto.org rules; more information, please contact us.