Salmon tern
| Salmon tern | ||||||||||
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Salmon tern ( Gelochelidon nilotica ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Gelochelidon nilotica | ||||||||||
| ( Gmelin , 1789) |
The Tern ( Gelochelidon nilotica ) is a species of bird from the family of the terns (Sternidae).
Appearance
Salmon terns are similar in size to black-headed gulls and are therefore a medium-sized tern . They are characterized by a black beak that is set relatively high on the head. The forehead and the top of the head up to the neck are plumed black in adult birds in breeding plumage. The top to the tail, however, is light gray. The tail is only slightly forked. In sitting birds, the wing tips protrude far beyond the short tail end. The underside of the body, on the other hand, is white.
When resting, salmon terns have a white forehead and a more white-gray feathered back. The plumage of young birds largely resembles the resting plumage, but the feathers of young birds often have a brownish edge.
distribution and habitat
Salmon terns are colony-forming breeding birds on sandy sea coasts and islands. They also occur on steppe lakes and, less often, on river islands inland. They breed in all parts of the world , for example they are part of the fauna of Australia as well as they can be found on the west and east coast of North America , in steppe areas of Central Asia as far as India.
In Central Europe, they are among the very rare breeding birds, which can occasionally be observed in the period from April to September. In 1980, only 150 breeding pairs were counted in Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein . In 2014 there was only one colony in the Neufelderkoog with 31 breeding pairs in Central Europe . In 2018 there were 37 breeding pairs in Neufelderkoog, with the breeding site being protected against ground predators such as red fox , raccoon dog and mink with an electric fence .
Salmon terns are long-distance migrants whose winter quarters are in the tropics and subtropics.
Reproduction
The breeding season for birds that breed in Europe is from May to June. There is only one annual brood.
The nest is a hollow in the sand or in low grass. The clutch usually consists of three sand-yellow eggs that are spotted brown. The incubation period is 22 to 23 days. After about five weeks, the hatched birds are independent of the parent birds. Both parent birds are involved in breeding and rearing.
food
Unlike other terns , salmon terns mainly eat land animals. These include insects , amphibians , small lizards , small mammals , and occasionally earthworms . Aquatic animals pick them up from the surface.
Protection status
The salmon tern is listed in the Red List of Germany in category 1 (critically endangered). It is specially protected according to Annex I of the EU Bird Protection Directive (RL 79/409 / EEC).
Web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for Gelochelidon nilotica in the Internet Bird Collection
- Sterna nilotica inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
- Salmon tern feathers
Individual evidence
- ^ Report on the colony on the website of the Wadden Sea Protection Station
- ↑ Sebastian Conradt: New roosting place for the salmon tern discovered in the Netherlands . In: Association Jordsand (Hrsg.): SEEVÖGEL: Journal of the association Jordsand for the protection of the sea birds and the nature eV Band 37 , issue 3, September 2016, ISSN 0722-2947 , p. 3 .
- ↑ Stefan Pfützke: Survival by a thread . Birds 3/2019, 28–31
- ↑ Christoph Grüneberg, Hans-Günther Bauer, Heiko Haupt, Ommo Hüppop, Torsten Ryslavy, Peter Südbeck: Red List of Germany's Breeding Birds , 5 version . In: German Council for Bird Protection (Hrsg.): Reports on bird protection . tape 52 , November 30, 2015.