Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica   [JF Gmelin, 1789]

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   Page updated:16-January-2013

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Sternidae
BTO Codes: TG, GUBTE EURING No: 6050
Number in Britain: 5 records/year
Conservation Status:
UK: Not Assessed
European: 3 Concern, most not in Europe; Vulnerable
Global: (Details)
Links to: Images   Videos   Sound  
Status in UK: (A)  Scarce Visitor, Has Bred
Subspecies: nilotica recorded in Britain (of 6 subsp. in the world)
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Length: 36 cm Wingspan: 108 cm Weight: M/F: 220 g    
Scientific name from: Gr.: gelao=laughing + khelidon=swallow and after the river Nile
World Distribution: BREEDS: Locally in e Europe, Asia, North America & c South America, WINTERS: south to S Africa, s Asia & s South America
Habitat: Sandy seacoasts, in winter marshes, estuaries, fields
Diet: Wide range of vertebrates and invertebrates

Records and Distribution

First Record: Sussex, 1813 (Palmer. P 2000. First for Britain & Ireland, Arlequin Press. [502.74 PAL])
Total Number of Records (1950-2007): 262
Most Likely to Occur in: April to September
Most Recent County Records:
   Scotland: Dumfries & Galloway (1990), Upper Forth (1977), Outer Hebrides (2003), Orkney (1992), Shetland (1995),
   North-east England: Cleveland (2007), Durham (2006), Northumberland (2006), East Yorkshire (1995), North Yorkshire (1992), South Yorkshire (2003),
   North-west England: Cheshire (2002), Lancashire (1995),
   English Midlands: Derbyshire (1995), Nottinghamshire (2006), Shropshire (2003), Staffordshire (1989), Warwickshire (2006), West Midlands (1896),
   Eastern England: Essex (2003), Lincolnshire (1978), Norfolk (2001), Suffolk (2005),
   South-east England: Hampshire (2003), Isle of Wight (1997), Kent (2006), Greater London (1980), Oxfordshire (1999), Surrey (1980), East Sussex (2005), West Sussex (2005),
   South-west England: Cornwall (2006), Devon (2006), Dorset (1996), Gloucestershire (1999), Somerset (2004), Wiltshire (1999), Isles of Scilly (2000),
   Wales: Anglesey (1978), Carmarthen (1996), Ceredigion (2007), Flintshire (1960), Gower (1996), Gwent (1979), Meirionnydd , Pembrokeshire (1985),

Information provided by BirdGuides and BBRC

Other Names

 
Gaelic: Welsh: Morwennol Ylfinbraff
Danish: Sandterne Dutch: Lachstern
Finnish: Hietatiira French: Sterne hansel
German: Lachseeschwalbe Hungarian: Kacagócsér
Icelandic: Sandþerna Irish: Geabhróg Ghobdhubh
Italian: Sterna zampenere Norwegian: Sandterne
Polish: Rybitwa krótkodzioba Portuguese: Gaivina-de-bico-preto
Spanish: Pagaza piconegra Swedish: Sandtärna

For More Information...

Books and Monographs:
   Guzman, J.M.S. & Fasola, M. 2002 BWP Update 4:21-34
See Also:
Find scientific papers on Google Scholar or Scirus by clicking the icon
Wikipedia entry
BirdLife species page
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides
All About Birds (from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Details from the Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter