White-winged Tern
Chlidonias leucopterus
Unlike marine terns that plunge-dive for fish, the White-winged Tern delicately swoops to pluck insects directly from the air or skims them off the water surface.
- Scientific name
- Chlidonias leucopterus
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Charadriiformes › Laridae › Chlidonias
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- decreasing
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Freshwater marshes, shallow lakes, wet meadows, and reservoirs.
- Diet
- Primarily terrestrial and aquatic insects, as well as small fish and tadpoles.
- Range
- Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
- Size
- Wingspan of 60-67 cm, body length of 20-24 cm, weighing 50-80 grams.
- Lifespan
- 7-10 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Wetland degradation and drainage, water pollution, and loss of nesting vegetation.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Maintain a safe distance of at least 30 meters, especially during the nesting season when they may dive-bomb intruders to defend their territory. If swooped, calmly walk away. They pose no physical danger to humans.
The white-winged tern , or white-winged black tern ( Chlidonias leucopterus or Chlidonias leucoptera ), is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is a small species generally found in or near bodies of fresh water across much of the world, including Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khelidonios , "swallow-like", from khelidon , "swallow". The specific leptopterus is also Greek from leptos , "slender", and pteros , "feathered", itself from pteron , "wing".
Photo: Kim, Hyun-tae, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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