Sterna

Sterna
Common tern by the River Thames
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Laridae
Tribe:	Sternini
Genus:	Sterna Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Sterna hirundo Linnaeus, 1758
Species
13, see text

Sterna is a genus of terns in the bird family Laridae. The genus used to encompass most "white" terns indiscriminately, but mtDNA sequence comparisons have recently determined that this arrangement is paraphyletic. It is now restricted to the typical medium-sized white terns occurring near-globally in coastal regions.^[1]

Taxonomy

The genus Sterna was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.^[2] The type species is the common tern (Sterna hirundo).^[3] Sterna is derived from Old English "stearn" which appears in the poem The Seafarer; a similar word was used to refer to terns by the Frisians.^[4]

Species

The genus contains 13 species.^[5]

Image	Common Name	Scientific name	Distribution
	Forster's tern	Sterna forsteri	North America.
	Snowy-crowned tern or Trudeau's tern	Sterna trudeaui	Argentina, south-east Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay
	Common tern	Sterna hirundo	Europe, North Africa, Asia east to western Siberia and Kazakhstan, and North America.
	Roseate tern	Sterna dougallii	Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America, and winters south to the Caribbean and west Africa.
	White-fronted tern	Sterna striata	New Zealand and Australia
	Black-naped tern	Sterna sumatrana	tropical and subtropical areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
	South American tern	Sterna hirundinacea	southern South America, including the Falkland Islands, ranging north to Peru (Pacific coast) and Brazil (Atlantic coast).
	Antarctic tern	Sterna vittata	Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the Falkland Islands, the Heard Island, the McDonald Islands, Australia, and New Zealand.
	Kerguelen tern	Sterna virgata	Kerguelen Islands, the Prince Edward Islands (i.e. Prince Edward and Marion) and Crozet Islands.
	Arctic tern	Sterna paradisaea	the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America (as far south as Brittany and Massachusetts).
	River tern	Sterna aurantia	inland rivers from Iran east into the Indian Subcontinent and further to Myanmar to Thailand
	Black-bellied tern	Sterna acuticauda	Pakistan, Nepal, India and Bangladesh, with a separate range in Myanmar.
	White-cheeked tern	Sterna repressa	coasts on the Red Sea, around the Horn of Africa to Kenya, in the Persian Gulf and along the Iranian coast to Pakistan and western India.

For the "brown-backed terns" see genus Onychoprion.

References

External links

• Media related to Sterna at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Sterna at Wikispecies

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Genera of shorebirds and their extinct allies

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Aves
• Infraclass: Neognathae
• Clade: Neoaves
• Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes
incertae sedis †Charadriisimilis †Eupterornis? †Fluviatitavis? †Jiliniornis †"Morsoravis" †Nahmavis †Palintropus? †Sarjeantopodus †Scandiavis †Volgavis? †Laornithidae? Laornis †Graculavidae? Dakotornis Graculavus Palaeotringa Telmatornis? Charadrii See below ↓ Scolopaci See below ↓ Lari See below ↓

Charadrii
incertae sedis †Cherevychnavis Burhinidae Burhinus Esacus †Genucrassum Pluvianellidae Pluvianellus Chionidae Chionis †Chionoides †Neilus Pluvianidae Pluvianus Pluvianidae Vanellinae †Dolicopterus? Erythrogonys Hoploxypterus Vanellus †Viator Charadriinae Anarhynchus Charadrius †Dorypaltus Elseyornis †Jilniornis Oreopholus Peltohyas Phegornis Pluvialis Thinornis Recurvirostridae Cladorhynchus Himantopus †Kashinia Recurvirostra Ibidorhynchidae Ibidorhyncha Haematopodidae Haematopus

Scolopaci
incertae sedis †Hakawai †Scolopacimilis Jacanidae Actophilornis Hydrophasianus Irediparra Jacana †Janipes Metopidius Microparra †Nupharanassa Pedionomidae †Oligonomus Pedionomus Rostratulidae Nycticryphes Rostratula Scolopacidae Actitis Arenaria Bartramia Calidris Coenocorypha †Elorius Gallinago Limnocryptes Limnodromus Limosa †Mirolia Numenius †Nuntius †Paractitis †Parvelorius Phalaropus Prosobonia Scolopax Tringa †Villetus Xenus Thinocoridae Attagis Thinocorus

Lari
Alcidae †Divisulcus †Hydrotherikornis †Miocepphus †Pseudocepphus Alcinae Alcini Alca Alle †Pinguinus Uria Synthliboramphini Synthliboramphus Cepphini Cepphus Brachyramphini Brachyramphus Fraterculinae Aethiini Aethia Ptychoramphus Fraterculini Cerorhinca Fratercula †Mancallinae Alcodes Mancalla Miomancalla Praemancalla Dromadidae Dromas Glareolidae †Becassius †Boutersemia †Mioglareola †Paractiornis †"Precursor"? Glareolinae Glareola Stiltia Glareolinae Cursorius Rhinoptilus Laridae Anous Chlidonias Chroicocephalus Creagrus †Feducciavis †Gaviota Gelochelidon Gygis Hydrocoloeus Hydroprogne Ichthyaetus †Laricola Larosterna Larus Leucophaeus †Limicolavis? †Limosavis Onychoprion Pagophila Phaetusa †Pseudosterna Rhodostethia Rynchops Rissa Sterna †Sternalara Sternula Thalasseus Xema Stercorariidae Stercorarius Turnicidae †Cerestenia †Eocliffia? Ortyxelos †Turnipax Turnix

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