Black-billed White Cheeked Tern
Black-billed White Cheeked Tern
In 1994 Klaus Malling Olsen & Hans Larsson presented their book on Terns of Europe and North- America. On plate 28 opposite p.113 different plumages of White-cheeked Tern Sternarepressa are shown among them (no 5) of an adult in breeding plumage with a black bill. Malling Olsen writes on p.113 that this individual reminds him of the east-asian Common Tern subspecies longipennis.
See photo 1
Since Malling Olsen published his observation no further sightings of black-billed White-cheeked Terns were published until that is in Sandgrouse 45 (2023) pp.225 plate 1 a photograph taken by Xavier Gitre during a survey of breeding birds by boat around the Egyptian island of Wadi Gimal jn the western Red Sea showing no less than four Black- billed White-cheeked Terns displaying. Also on plate 2 another black-billed White cheeked Tern in flight carrying fish.
According to Cramp (1985) White-cheeked Terns from the Red Sea are slightly smaller than the larger White-cheeked Terns from the Persian Gulf.
See photo 2a en 2b
See pictures taken in the Persian Gulf by Jem Babbington here:
The White-cheeked Tern from the Persian Gulf has been renamed as Sterna repressa Hartert, 1916, Novitates Zool.,23.p. 288, Fao, Persian Gulf. Vaurie,1965.
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Nevertheless Cramp cs did not split them into separate taxa! I therefore propose to name the smaller White-cheeked Tern of the Red Sea; Sterna repressa minor. See type specimens from Hurgada NW Egypt ad female 16071937 and 2CY male 22071937 Nat.His.Mus.Tring.
See photos 2-3-4-5
So far there has not been an example available in collections of the Black-billed White-cheeked Tern but thanks to Hein van Grouw one is now availble see no’s 6.-8 an adult male collected on 6th June 1923 in Port Sudan not far from Wadi Gimal in Egypt.
See photos 6-7-8-9.
I propose to name the Black-billed White-cheeked Tern Sterna (repressa) aegypticus.
references:
– Cramp, Stanly cs. 1985. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa; The birds of the , Western Palearctic vol IV. Oxford University Press.
– Malling Olsen, Klaus & Hans Larsson. 1994.GMB Haarlem. Sterns van Europa en Noord-Amerika
Gitre, Xavier. Sandgrouse 45 (2023) pp. 224-227: A brief survey of breeding birds at Wadi Gimal island IBA, Egypt.
– Sterna r.repressa from the Persian Gulf photographed by Jem Babbington:
Vaurie,Charles. 1965. The Birds Of The Palearctic Fauna. Witherby ltb London.
– Sterna repressa stragglar to Mediterranean shore. Maritime and occurs offshore and in coastal waters:
Shirihai, Hadoram. 1996, Academic Press London. The Birds of Israel.
