Chlidonias hybrida
The Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida) is an elegant medium-sized tern, measuring 24-28 cm in length with a wingspan of 70-76 cm. During its striking breeding plumage, it sports a broad, deep black cap extending well down the nape, contrasting sharply with pure white cheeks and throat. Its underparts are a distinctive deep slate-grey, while the upperparts and tail are pale grey, complemented by bright red legs and a sturdy red bill. In non-breeding plumage, the underparts become white, the b...
Found primarily in freshwater wetlands, including large marshes, deltas, lakes, and shallow lagoons, often with extensive emergent vegetation like reeds and sedges. It prefers lowland areas and avoids open coastlines.
Primarily insectivorous, catching a wide range of flying insects (e.g., dragonflies, damselflies, beetles, flies) aerially, but also consumes small fish, tadpoles, and crustaceans by dipping or skimming the water surface.
Whiskered Terns are highly social, diurnal birds that form large, often dense, breeding colonies and communal roosts, typically on floating vegetation or sandbars. Their foraging strategy involves graceful, buoyant flight, frequently hovering over water before dipping down to snatch prey from the...
The Whiskered Tern exhibits a vast, yet somewhat disjunct, breeding range across the Old World, primarily inhabiting temperate and subtropical wetlands. Its primary breeding grounds span central and southern Europe, North Africa, and extend across much of temperate Asia to eastern China. Disjunct...
Least Concern
- The scientific name 'hybrida' was given by the ornithologist Pallas, who initially believed it to be a hybrid between a Black Tern and a Common Tern, a theory later disproven. - Unlike many tern species that feed exclusively on fish, the Whiskered Tern's diet consists heavily of large insects, ...