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 LC    Lesser Crested Tern* Id (Atlas): 116
    Thalasseus bengalensis

Description (10)
Image of Lesser Crested Tern
  Medium large. Long crest, slightly decurved bill, medium long forked tail. Sexes alike.

Adults: Breeding: Shaggy black cap, extending to almost the base of the bill, with white spots on forehead. Crest is long. Sides of face, underparts, white. Rest of upperparts, grey. Outer primaries have black inner webs and distinct white shafts. Eye, dark brown. Bill, orange. Legs, black. Non-breeding: Like breeding plumage but forehead white, streaked black on crown. Bill, duller orange. Legs, black.

Immatures: Similar to non-breeding adult but face and crown streaked black and buff. Dark shoulder mark. Mottled brownish above. Outer primaries, outer tail feathers, sooty. Bill, brownish-yellow with a dark tip. Legs, black.


Other Scientific Names
Thalasseus bengalensis [Christidis and Boles (2008)]

Other Names (World)
Lesser Crested Tern, Lesser Crested-Tern, Crested Tern, Indian Tern

Family
Laridae (Gulls, Terns, Skimmers)

Size
35 - 43 cm
Wingspan: 80 - 105 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Lesson, 1831)

Derivation
Stern'-a - N.L., a gull: bengalensis - N.L., of the Bay of Bengal

Abundance (Guide)
C

Common in breeding areas, uncommon, sedentary throughout coastal Australia.

Habitat
Off-shore seas, islands, cays, reefs and beaches.

Range (Guide)
Algeria, Australia (B), Bahrain (B), Bangladesh, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, China (mainland), Comoros, Djibouti (B), Egypt (B), Eritrea (B), Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, India, Indonesia, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B), Iraq (B), Israel, Italy (B), Kenya, Kuwait (B), Lebanon (B), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (B), Madagascar (B), Malaysia (NB), Maldives (B), Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Oman (NB), Pakistan, Papua New Guinea (B), Qatar (B), Saudi Arabia (B) (P), Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Spain (B), Sri Lanka, Sudan (B), Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand, Timor-Leste (NB), Tunisia, United Arab Emirates (B), Yemen (P).

Vagrant to Austria, Cambodia, France, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Jordan, Netherlands Antilles, Senegal, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom.

Image of Range of Lesser Crested Tern
Northern Australia, south to Shark Bay, WA in the west to about Fraser Island, Qld in the east.
 
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 190,000 - 230,000 (2010).

Status LC
Probably secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Carnivorous. Almost entirely fish, but also molluscs, squid and cristaceans.

Voice
A rasping, 'carrik' or 'kirrik'.



Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (28)...)

 
Lesser Crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) [XC624684]
     by Ken Behrens from Antsiranana Urban, Antsiranana Province, Madagascar (call)

 
Lesser Crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) [XC515989]
     by Cedric Mroczko from Tiab, Hormozgan Province, Iran (begging call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
October - January in the north-east and April - June elsewhere.

J F M A M J J A S O N D
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


Nest
A depression in the ground, usually on bare ground surrounded by vegetation. In colonies, with other terns.

Eggs (Guide)
1; white or pale-pink, lightly spotted and blotched with sepia, red-brown and purple-grey; oval; about 53 x 37 mm. Incubation: about 25 days; by both sexes.

Young
Precocial, semi-nidifugous. Fed by both parents until fledging.

Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) and Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis), and perhaps Chinese Crested Tern (Thalasseus bernsteini), and subspecific status has even been suggested.

Mediterranean and Red Sea birds sometimes classified together as subspecies par; emigrata may be synonymous with torresii, although biogeographically allogical.

The following 3 subspecies are recognised:

  • emigratus (Neumann, 1934)   -  Libya; most winter off western African coast.
  • bengalensis (Lesson, 1831)   -  Red Sea, and presumed to be this race in Pakistan, Laccadives and Maldives. Winters south to southern Africa and Sri Lanka.
  • torresii Gould, 1843   -  Persian Gulf, and from Sulawesi to New Guinea and northern Australia; in winter extends into northern Indian and south-western Pacific Oceans.


Similar Species
Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii)
Larger. Darker overall. Bill is straw-yellow.

Compare Images


References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9


Files:
JPG files for Lesser Crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) - 10 filesMP3 files for Lesser Crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) - 1 files


More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Lesser Crested Tern see... Show Articles BirdLife International Species Factsheet.


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