Hindu tern
| Hindu tern | ||||||||||
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Hindu tern |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Sterna aurantia | ||||||||||
| JE Gray , 1831 |
The Hinduseeschwalbe is a species from the family of the terns (Sternidae).
It occurs in southwest China , south India , Iran , the Mekong Delta , Nepal and east Pakistan , not Sri Lanka .
Their distribution area includes almost exclusively fresh water : rivers , lakes or swamps .
description
The Hindu tern is 38 to 46 cm tall, the wingspan is 80 to 85 cm. It is a large, massive appearance with a gray-white underside, a long deeply split tail and a strong bill with a black tip, orange-yellow in the brooding male. The sexes did not differ. The legs are short and red. In the breeding dress, the forehead, crown and neck are glossy ink-black, in the plain dress gray-white speckled and black-striped neck. The color of the beak is the best way to distinguish it from the similar black-bellied tern .
voice
The male's call is described as a loud, sharp “kyEEer” and a short “krree”.
Way of life
The diet consists of fish , shellfish , tadpoles and aquatic insects . The swallow is sociable, flies up and down close to the water looking for prey, and also dives in completely with its wings folded.
The breeding season is between February and May, depending on the dry season. Usually three greenish-gray to yellow-brown, brown and black striped eggs are placed directly on the ground on sandbanks. She is a colony breeder.
Hazardous situation
The Hindu Tern is considered to be near threatened due to its decrease in numbers in large areas of its range.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Avibase
- ↑ a b c d e Handbook of the Birds of the World
- ^ A b S. Ali: The Book of Indian Birds. Bombay Natural History Society, Oxford university Press, 13th ed. 2002, ISBN 978-0-19-566523-9
- ^ R. Grimmett, T. Inskipp: Birds of Northern India. Helm Field Guides, 2017, ISBN 978-0-7136-5167-6
- ^ IUCN Redlist
Web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for sterna aurantia in the Internet Bird Collection
