Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Charadriiformes
Subordo: Lari
Familia: Laridae
Subfamilia: Sterninae
Genus: Sternula
Species: Sternula lorata
Name
Sternula lorata (Philippi & kLandbeck, 1861)
Synonyms
Sterna lorata
References
Anales de la Universidad de Chile 19: 612
IUCN: Sternula lorata (Endangered)
Vernacular names
azərbaycanca: Peru susüpürəni
català: Xatrac menut de Humbolt
Cebuano: Sterna lorata
čeština: Rybák chilský
Cymraeg: Môr-wennol Periw
Deutsch: Peruseeschwalbe
English: Peruvian Tern
Esperanto: Perua ŝterno
español: Charrancito Peruano
فارسی: پرستوی دریایی پرو
suomi: Chilenpikkutiira
français: Sterne du Pérou
Nederlands: Humboldtstern
Diné bizaad: Dibénééz Bikéyahdę́ę́ʼ tónteel táshchozhii
português: Ternula lorata
svenska: perutärna
The Peruvian tern (Sternula lorata) is a species of tern in the family Laridae. Found in northern Chile, Ecuador, and Peru, its natural habitats are hot deserts, sandy shores, and coastal saline lagoons. It is threatened by habitat loss.
In Spanish, it is known as the "charrancito Peruano"[1] or "gaviotín chico".
Description
The Peruvian tern is a very small species with a length of about 24 cm (9.4 in).[2] The upper half of the head and neck are black, and the remaining part of the head is white. The back, wings and tail are grey, the throat, chin and breast are white, and the chest, belly and flanks are pale grey. The under tail-coverts are white. The bill is yellow with a black tip, the irises are brown and the legs are yellowish. The pale grey underparts differentiate it from other small terns. It has a very rapid and characteristic wingbeat. The call is a shrill "kik" and a harsh "gree", and it also utters a descending series of "kee-ee-eer" notes.[2]
Distribution
This species is endemic to the tropical west coast of South America. Its range extends from north and central Ecuador, through Peru to northern Chile, as far south as the Mejillones Peninsula. Its status in Ecuador is unclear and in Peru it is known from four confirmed sites, breeding at the back of the beach in association with wetlands. There are nine known sites in Chile, all in the vicinity of Mejillones, and at all of these the birds breed a little inland in the desert. There may be other breeding sites that have yet to be discovered, and some sites have not been revisited since they were recorded many years ago.[3]
Ecology
The diet has been observed to include the Peruvian anchoveta (Engraulis ringens), the Atlantic saury (Scomberesox saurus), the Peruvian silverside (Odontesthes regia) and the mote sculpin (Normanichthys crockeri).[1]
Breeding takes place between August and February but is mostly concentrated between October and January. The nests are widely separated in loose colonies of up to twenty-five pairs. They are often found near coastal wetlands and lagoons where the birds forage. Some birds nest on beaches and dunes one to two hundred metres inland from the high tide mark, but others nest one or more kilometres inland on sandy plains.[1] One or two eggs form a clutch, and both eggs and chicks are well-camouflaged to avoid detection. After breeding, the birds leave the coast and may move out to sea. In El Niño years, they are also absent from the shore, do not make any attempt to breed and probably remain at sea.[1]
Status
The total number of Peruvian terns is estimated to be in the range 1,000 to 2,499 individuals. The number seems to be declining, and in 2007 it was suggested that there were only half as many birds as there had been ten years earlier. Because of the small population size and the decrease in numbers of individuals, BirdLife International has assessed the bird's conservation status as being "endangered".[3] The Chilean Ornithologist Jürgen Rottmann is the director of The Gaviotín Chico Sustainability Foundation which has successfully rallied the local community school students, councilmen and the mining industry, to protect the nesting habitad of this bird at the Mejillones Peninsula[4] from stray dogs and other predators that exacerbate human-caused decline. The strategies used include labeling and fencing of the nesting sites, translocation of predators and the use of decoy Japanese quail eggs.
References
BirdLife International (2019). "Sternula lorata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T22694685A155621597. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22694685A155621597.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
Schulenberg, Thomas S.; Stotz, Douglas F.; Lane, Daniel F.; O'Neill, John P.; Parker, Theodore A. III (2010). Birds of Peru: Revised and Updated Edition. Princeton University Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-4008-3449-5.
Peruvian Tern Sternula lorata BirdLife Species Factsheet. Downloaded on 16 September 2015
"Chilean Birdman Leads Efforts to Save Seabird in World's Driest Desert. -Naturalist Jürgen Rottmann strives to protect Peruvian tern's nesting sites amid Chile's growing seaport- The National Geographic Magazine, February 28, 2015".
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