Desert tern

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Desert tern
Desert tern

Desert tern

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Family : Swallows (Hirundinidae)
Subfamily : Hirundininae
Genre : Ptyonoprogne
Type : Desert tern
Scientific name
Ptyonoprogne obsoleta
( Cabanis , 1851)

The desert tern ( Ptyonoprogne obsoleta ) is a species of bird in the swallow family (Hirundinidae) that lives in Morocco , Mauritania , Algeria , Libya , Niger , Chad , Sudan , Eritrea , Ethiopia , Somalia , Egypt , Israel , Lebanon , Turkey , Iran , Iraq , Yemen , Saudi Arabia , Oman , United Arab Emirates , Afghanistan , and Pakistan is common. The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern .

features

The desert tern reaches a body length of about 12.5 to 14 cm with a weight of about 14 to 24.5 g. It has a wingspan between 27.5 to 30 com. It is a small, medium-sized, short-tailed swallow. The plumage color looks washed out, including the pale gray-brown upper side and the cream-white to yellow-brown lower side. It has an unstriped throat and under wing-coverts that are not too raised. White spots can be seen on the spread tail and the under tail-coverts, which are also very light. It differs from the rock tern ( Ptyonoprogne rupestris ) mainly in its smaller size, which can differ by up to 15%. The more general color is a bit lighter, with a slightly greyish tint. Other features that distinguish both are the white on the tail and the non-existent chest band. Both sexes are similar. Young animals have yellow-brown to reddish feather fringes on the upper side and a distinctly different reddish washed out throat and cesspool .

Behavior and nutrition

The desert tern feeds on flying insects. When analyzing the stomach contents of P. o. Arabica , beetles, bees, wasps, ants, mosquitos, flies, lacewings , mosquitoes, termites and grasshoppers were discovered. The chicks from a nest in Oman were fed 30 species of insects from six orders , but most of them were hymenoptera . In three days they were fed 265 different things. Two- winged birds appear to be particularly important as a food source in Pakistan . Foraging is done in pairs or in smaller groups. They occasionally mingle with other species of swallow when foraging. It mainly moves near cliffs up to a meter above the ground. The flight is slow with frequent gliding phases. It glides back and forth along cliffs and buildings. It is active at dusk and eats late in the evening.

Vocalizations

The desert tern's song consists of muffled, slightly harsh chirping that sounds like chee-pte-chee-tek-tt-she-she-schrrrrrr . This ends emphatically. The main tones for making contact is a dry trrt tone, similar to that of related swallows. But you can also hear a nasal vick from her . This includes a light twi a quickly repeated chir chir chir or a chp-chip-chip to your repertoire. In some situations she makes a quick chirrup sound, which she occasionally incorporates into her singing.

Reproduction

The breeding season of the desert tern in northwest Africa is from February to April, occasionally as early as January. In Egypt it breeds from January to June. Mostly from March to May but also into July it breeds in Israel. In Arabia it is mostly from February to April, but also in the period from December to August at the brooding. In Ethiopia the breeding season can last the whole year, in Somalia at least from March to May and in Southwest Asia from April to June. It usually breeds alone but occasionally in smaller groups with a few pairs. Their nests have also been discovered in the vicinity by house swifts ( Apus affinis ). It is very aggressive towards intruders such as larger hawks. The nest is built by both sexes and this sometimes takes several weeks. The nest is an open full or half chalice that is built on rocks, cliffs or in caves, but also on concrete structures built by people, metal walls or partly on rafters and protrusions. There are also reports of them breeding in artificial nests. The nests are occasionally found low above the water or up to 16 m above the ground. It is made of mud, for they collect from damp earth or at the edge of puddles, and lined with feathers from other birds, soft grass, hair, sheep's wool and oleander plant down. Nests are often re-used the following season or twice in the same season. A clutch at the larger end of Africa consists of two to three white eggs with reddish brown markings. It can be three to six eggs in the Middle East and Pakistan. Usually there are three eggs. Incubation takes place by both sexes and lasts 17 days. The nestlings fledge at 25 to 30 days. It can happen that the nestlings are still being fed on the fly.

distribution and habitat

Distribution area of ​​the desert tern

The desert tern prefers mountains, rocks, cliffs, canyons, coastlines, and human habitats, including cities and towns. Mostly she travels in dry areas including the desert. It occurs at altitudes from sea level up to 3600 meters in Arabia, and in Ethiopia even up to 4000 meters.

migration

The desert tern is sometimes considered a migratory bird with many changes of location, e.g. B. in Morocco. Before breeding, they form smaller groups of 300 to 500 birds. In some areas of distribution it does not breed at all, such as in northern Senegambia, southwest Mauritania or northern Somalia. In some regions in northwestern Africa and Afghanistan it is only present during the breeding season. P. o. Arabica and possibly the nominate form are only present in Ethiopia and Eritrea from early November to early May. In the Middle East and Pakistan it is more of a resident bird , e.g. B. in the lower altitudes after the brood. Groups move around to explore the food sources. In January 2008, random visitors to Cape Verde were sighted for the first time.

Subspecies

There are seven known subspecies:

  • Ptyonoprogne obsoleta spatzi ( Geyr von Schweppenburg , 1916) occurs in southern Algeria, southwest Libya and northern Chad. The subspecies is similar to P. o. Arabica but is paler and has more yellow-brown on the underside - the pink tint is reduced.
  • Ptyonoprogne obsoleta presaharica ( Vaurie , 1953) is common in southern Morocco, northern Mauritania and north-central Algeria. The subspecies is similar to P. o. Spatzi but is paler and more sandy in color.
  • Ptyonoprogne obsoleta buchanani ( Hartert, E 1921) occurs in Niger. The coloring is even paler than in the nominate form .
  • Ptyonoprogne obsoleta obsoleta ( Cabanis , 1850) is common in Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iran.
  • Ptyonoprogne obsoleta arabica ( Reichenow , 1905) occurs in northern Chad, northern Sudan, southwest of the Arabian Peninsula , northern Somalia and on Socotra . The subspecies is paler and grayer and has a light pink tint on the throat. The chest is light gray-brown with a pink complexion. It is also a little bigger.
  • Ptyonoprogne obsoleta perpallida ( Vaurie , 1951) is common in northeastern Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq. This subspecies is extremely pale, with more gray on the top and white on the underside.
  • Ptyonoprogne obsoleta pallida Hume , 1872 occurs in eastern Iran, southern Afghanistan and Pakistan. This subspecies is pale sand gray on top. The rump is paler, the throat yellow-brownish white. The underside is whitish.

Etymology and history of research

The desert tern was first described in 1851 by Jean Louis Cabanis under the scientific name Cotyle obsoleta . The type specimen came from north-east Africa. Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach introduced the new genus Ptyonoprogne as early as 1850 . The name is derived from the Greek words "ptyon, ptyssō πτυον, πτυσσω " for "fan, fold" and the Latin "progne" for "swallow". The species name "obsoleta" derives from the Latin "obsoletus, obsolescere" for "simple, worn out, forgotten, worn out". Spatzi is Paul Sparrow (1865-1942), buchanani Captain Angus Buchanan devoted (1886-1954). "Presaharica" ​​is a Latin combination of "prae" for "before, before" and "Saharicus" for "Sahara". "Aharicus" is the Latin word for "Arabic" from "Arabia" for "Arabia" and refers to southern Arabia. »Pallida« derives from »pallidus, pallere« for »pale, pale to be«, »prepallida« extended by »per-« for »very«.

literature

  • Josep del Hoyo , Nigel Collar , Guy Maxwell Kirwan in: Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal , David Andrew Christie , Eduardo de Juana: Pale Rock Martin (Ptyonoprogne obsoleta) in Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
  • Jean Louis Cabanis: Museum Heineanum Directory of the ornithological collection of the Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine at Gut St. Burchard in front of Halberstatdt. With critical comments and a description of the new species, systematically edited by Dr. Jean Cabanis, first custodian of the Royal Zoological Collection in Berlin and Ferdinand Heine, student philosopher volume 1 . R. Frantz, Halberstadt 1850 ( biodiversitylibrary.org - 1850–1851).
  • Hans Freiherr Geyr von Scheppenburg: New forms from northern Africa . In: Ornithological monthly reports . tape 24 , no. 4 , 1916, pp. 56-60 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Charles Vaurie: Notes on some Asiatic swallows . In: American Museum novitates . No. 1529 , 1951, pp. 1-47 ( digitallibrary.amnh.org [PDF; 4.5 MB ]).
  • Charles Vaurie: Systematic notes on Palearctic birds. No. 1, A new swallow from the northern Sahara . In: American Museum novitates . No. 1640 , 1953, pp. 1–2 ( digitallibrary.amnh.org [PDF; 188 kB ]).
  • Ernst Hartert: Captain Angus Buchanan's Air Expedition. IV. The Birds collected by Capt. Angus Buchanan during his journey from Kano to Air or Asben . In: Novitates Zoologicae . tape 28 , no. 1 , 1921, p. 78-141 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Anton Reichenow: The birds of Africa . tape 3 . Neudamm Verlag J. Neumann, Morschen / Heina 1905 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Allan Octavian Hume: Nobelities . In: Stray feathers. Journal of ornithology for India and its dependencies. tape 1 , no. 1 , 1872, p. 1-21 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach: Avium Systema Naturale The natural system of birds with a hundred plates, mostly original illustrations of the almost twelve hundred typical shapes discovered up to now . tape 1 . Friedrich Hofmeister, Dresden and Leipzig 1850 ( biodiversitylibrary.org - 1849–1850).

Web links

Commons : Desert Tern ( Ptyonoprogne obsoleta )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Josep del Hoyo u. a.
  2. ^ IOC World Bird List Swallows
  3. ^ A b Hans Geyr von Schweppenburg (1916), pp. 59–60
  4. ^ Charles Vaurie (1953), p. 1
  5. ↑ Ernst Hartert (1921), p. 112
  6. ↑ a b Jean Louis Cabanis (1850), p. 50
  7. ^ A b Anton Reichenow (1951), p. 828
  8. ^ Charles Vaurie (1951), p. 15
  9. ↑ Allan Octavian Hume (1872), pp. 1-2
  10. ^ Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (1850), plate 87
  11. ↑ James A. Jobling p. 323
  12. ↑ James A. Jobling p. 278
  13. ↑ Ernst Hartert (1921), p. 78
  14. ↑ a b James A. Jobling p. 316
  15. ↑ James A. Jobling p. 289