Family Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)
Least Concern
Yellow-billed Tern (Sternula superciliaris)
Taxonomy
French: Sterne argentée German: Amazonasseeschwalbe Spanish: Charrancito amazónico
Taxonomy:
Sterna superciliaris
Vieillot
, 1819,Paraguay
.Distribution:
E Colombia (E of Andes) S to NE Peru, and E to the Guianas, E Brazil and CE Argentina (Buenos Aires).
Descriptive notes
23 cm; 40–57 g. Very similar to the Least Tern S. antillarum, but slightly larger and longer-legged, with a stouter, entirely yellow bill, lacking... read more
Voice
Calls include a short nasal “kuk” and a slightly longer raspy “rreh”, typically repeated in loose... read more
Habitat
Broad rivers. Breeds mainly on riverine sandbars and lake beaches, in mixed colonies with Black... read more
Food and feeding
Small fish (7–45 mm), shrimps and insects; sometimes predominantly insects (Peru). Often feeds by hovering and plunge-diving from 3... read more
Breeding
Virtually unstudied. November in Surinam, December in Uruguay, July in Peru; timing dependent on exposure of riverine sandbars in dry... read more
Movements
The principal known main movement is apparently along river valleys to coasts, where non-breeders... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). No reliable population figures available but the global population may be within the range of 25,000–100,000 individuals. ... read more
Closely related to S. albifrons, S. saundersi, S. antillarum and S. lorata. Monotypic.