Red tern
| Red tern | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Petrochelidon perdita | ||||||||||||
| ( Fry & DA Smith , 1985) |
The red tern ( Petrochelidon perdita ) is a cryptic species of bird known only through a single dead individual from 1984.
features
The specimen found, which is in the Natural History Museum at Tring, is 14 centimeters long. The forehead and reins are blackish. The parting is blue-black. The back is shiny deep blue. The tail end is straight, the outer edges of the tail are angular. The chin has a white spot. Throat and upper chest are blue-black, the rest of the underside is dirty white. The under tail coverts are sand colored. The under wing coverts are white. From their closest relatives, the cliff swallow ( Petrochelidon spilodera ), it differs in color and the drawing of the head and chest as well as the gray-white rump .
Habitat and way of life
Nothing is known about habitat and way of life. It may be found in association with other swallow species on cliffs, mountainous areas or in open grasslands. The specimen found in May had just finished moulting. This suggests a breeding season early in the year.
status
Only the holotype of the red tern exists , which was found in May 1984 at the Sanganeb lighthouse on the Red Sea northeast of Port Sudan in Sudan . Unidentified swallows that have been spotted several times in Ethiopia (for example 20 times on Langano and up to twelve times in Awash National Park ) could possibly represent this taxon, but also another previously undescribed species. The birds from Ethiopia had a whitish (not blue-black) throat and upper chest, a dark (not light) chin and a sand-colored to reddish-brown (not gray) rump. On the other hand, two pale-rumped swallows observed on their flight to Jeddah showed features that might apply to the red tern.
literature
- J. Del Hoyo, A. Elliot, D. Christie (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and Wagtails. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2004, ISBN 84-87334-69-5 .