White-winged Tern

Chlidonias leucopterus (Temminck, 1815)

White-winged Tern, Chlidonias leucopterus, breeds in the Palearctic from inland south-central and eastern Europe and Iraq to south-east Russia, north-east China and north-central Siberia, and spends the non-breeding season in coastal and inland Africa north and south of the Sahara, south-east Asia, eastern China, the Philippines, the Indonesian Archipelago, coastal New Guinea and Australia. It is a tern in the family Laridae. The name white-winged tern is the standard form in most English-speaking countries, and in the United Kingdom it is also the form used by the official recording authorities, though white-winged black tern remains in common use.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Breeding range

Palearctic: inland sc, e Europe and Iraq to se Russia, ne China and nc Siberia

Nonbreeding range

to coastal and inland Africa n and s of Sahara; se Asia and e China, Philippines, Indonesian Arch., and coastal New Guinea and Australia