whiskered tern (Chlidonias hybrida or Chlidonias hybridus) Summer plumage
Description
English: Whiskered tern (Chlidonias hybrida), Lake Sibaya, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
Date 29 October 2014, 09:27:19
Source Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography http://www.sharpphotography.co.uk/
Author Charlesjsharp https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Charlesjsharp
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whiskered_tern_(Chlidonias_hybrida).jpg
The whiskered tern (Chlidonias hybrida or Chlidonias hybridus) is a seabird of the tern family, Sternidae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khelidonios, "swallow-like", from khelidon, "swallow". The specific hybridus is Latin for hybrid; Pallas thought it might be a hybrid of white-winged black tern and common tern, writing "Sterna fissipes [Chlidonias leucopterus] et Hirundine [Sterna hirundo] natam”. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in size and minor plumage details. Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Sternidae.
Subspecies:
C. h. hybrida – (Pallas, 1811) (Eurasian Whiskered Tern)
C. h. delalandii – (Mathews, 1912) (African Whiskered Tern)
C. h. javanicus – (Horsfield, 1821) (Australasian Whiskered Tern)
