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White-winged Tern

Chlidonias leucopterusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)
Codes: Common Name: WWTE Scientific Name: CHLLEU ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176958
Least Concern
 
White-winged Tern: The breeding adult White-winged Tern has a black head and body, the rump, tail, and upperwing coverts are white. Bill is dark red to black; legs and feet are red.
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Overview

White-winged Tern: Small tern, black head, body, and underwing coverts; white rump, vent, upperwing coverts, and tail; flight feathers are pale gray. Bill is dark red to black; Red legs and feet. Fluttering, uneven flight with slow, shallow wing beats. Hovers before dipping for prey.

Range and Habitat

White-winged Tern: Eurasian species; casual vagrant on the U.S. east coast, accidental inland, in Texas, and on the western Aleutian Islands. Spends winters in Africa. Preferred habitats include inland wetlands, coastal wetlands, and estuaries.

Topo Map: Gull-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"kersch", "kreek"

Interesting Facts

 The White-winged Tern was first described in 1815 by Coenraad Jacob Temminck, a Dutch aristocrat and zoologist.

 In Britain the older name 'White-winged Black Tern' is still frequently used.

 This Eurasian vagrant attracts numerous birders whenever it appears, usually during fall migration.

 A group of terns are collectively known as a "ternery" or a "U" of terns.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Yury Lisyak

Splitbar
Range Map for White-winged Tern

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Family Tern (Laridae)_blue
Species Chlidonias leucopterus
Length9 Inches
Wingspan22 Inches

White-winged Tern

White-winged Tern: Small tern, black head, body, and underwing coverts; white rump, vent, upperwing coverts, and tail; flight feathers are pale gray. Bill is dark red to black; Red legs and feet. Fluttering, uneven flight with slow, shallow wing beats. Hovers before dipping for prey.

● Song: "kersch", "kreek"

● Foraging & Feeding: White-winged Tern: Feeds on insects, small fish, invertebrates, crabs, and shrimp. Often forages while flying into the wind, then drifts downwind to repeat the maneuver; also plunge dives, surface snatches, and skims.

● Breeding & nesting: White-winged Tern: Three brown to dark brown eggs with black brown blotches are laid on a mat of floating marsh vegetation or dead grass. Incubation ranges from 17 to 22 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: White-winged Tern: Other short-tailed terns lack black bodies and white wings.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with rapid wing beats.
White-winged Tern Breeding Adult Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: White-winged Tern: Eurasian species; casual vagrant on the U.S. east coast, accidental inland, in Texas, and on the western Aleutian Islands. Spends winters in Africa. Preferred habitats include inland wetlands, coastal wetlands, and estuaries.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationAccidental in North America
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.9 Ounces
Gull-like BodyX
Flight feathersX
Located on the wing, and collectively called remiges (singular, remex). The long stiff feathers are subdivided into two major groups based on the location and are called primaries and secondaries.
RumpX
The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.
VentX
Birds do not have two separate cavities for excrement and reproduction like humans do. In birds, there is one single entrance/exit that suits both functions called the vent, cloaca or anus.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX