Little white tern

Taxonomy

The little white tern was first formally described by the British ornithologist Howard Saunders in 1876 under the binomial name Gygis microrhyncha meaning small (micro) bill (rhyncha). There are no recognized subspecies.

Description

The little white tern is much smaller and has a more slender bill than any subspecies of the common white tern. It has been described as a "compact, goggle-eyed bird with shorter, more rounded wings and less deeply forked tail" when compared to Gygis alba. The calamus or 'quill' of the feather in the little white tern are notably white compared to black calamus found in common white terns.

Distribution and habitat

The little white tern ranges throughout French Polynesia and the Republic of Kiribati, including the Phoenix and Line Islands, and was first described from three specimens from the Marquesas Islands.

References

References

1. BirdLife International. (2018). "''Gygis microrhyncha''".
2. (2014). "HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines.". Lynx Edicions BirdLife International.
3. Saunders, Howard. (1876). "On the Sterninæ, or Terns, with Descriptions of Three New Species". Proceedings of the Zoological Society.
4. Olson, Storrs L. (2005). "First occurrence of Gygis microrhyncha in the Hawaiian Islands". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.
5. Pratt, H. Douglas. (2020). "Species limits and English names in the genus Gygis (Laridae)". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.
6. Tristram, H.B.. (1881). "Notes on a Collection of Birds from the Marquesas Islands". Ibis.
7. "Gygis microrhyncha (Little White Tern) - Avibase".