- Grey-backed Tern
Taxobox
name = Grey-backed Tern
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
image_width = 240px
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Charadriiformes
familia =Sternidae
genus = "Onychoprion "
species = "O. lunatus"
binomial = "Onychoprion lunatus"
binomial_authority = (Peale,1848 )
synonyms = "Onychoprion lunata" ("lapsus ")
"Sterna lunata" Peale, 1848The Grey-backed Tern, "Onychoprion lunatus", is aseabird in thetern family. A close relative of the Bridled andSooty Tern s (with which it is sometimes confused), the Grey-backed Tern is less common than the other members of itsgenus and is has been studied less. The three species, along with theAleutian Tern were recently split into a new genus "Onychoprion" from "Sterna " (Bridge "et al.", 2005). They resemble the Sooty Tern but with a grey back instead of a black one. Their breast and underparts are white, and the have a black eye line from the bill to the back of the head which gives them their other name, the Spectacled Tern.The Grey-backed Tern breeds on islands of the
tropical Pacific Ocean . At the northern end of its distribution it nests in theNorthwestern Hawaiian Islands (with the largest population beingLisianski Island ) and two small islets offOahu , in the east as far as theTuamotu Islands , with other colonies in theSociety Islands , theLine Islands ,Phoenix Islands ,Mariana Islands andAmerican Samoa . There are unconfirmed reports of breeding as far south asFiji , and as far east asEaster Island . Little is known about the populations outside of Hawaii. Outside of the breeding season the species is partly migratory, with birds from the Hawaiian Islands flying south. It is thought that birds in other parts of the Pacific are also migratory, and will disperse as far asPapua New Guinea , the Philippines, andEaster Island .References
* Bridge, E. S.; Jones, A. W. & Baker, A. J. (2005): A phylogenetic framework for the terns (Sternini) inferred from mtDNA sequences: implications for taxonomy and plumage evolution. "Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution" 35: 459–469. [http://www2.hawaii.edu/~khayes/Journal_Club/summer2006/Bridge_et_al_2005_MPE.pdf PDF fulltext]
* Mostello, C. S.; Palaia, N. A. & Clapp, B. (2000). Gray-backed Tern ("Sterna lunata"). "In:" Poole, A. & Gill, F. (eds.): "The Birds of North America" 525. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
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