Whiskered tern
| Whiskered tern | |
|---|---|
| C. h. delalandii summer (breeding) plumage, South Africa | |
| C. h. hybrida winter (non-breeding) plumage, Sri Lanka | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Laridae |
| Genus: | Chlidonias |
| Species: | C. hybrida |
| Binomial name | |
| Chlidonias hybrida (Pallas, 1811) | |
| Subspecies | |
| Range of Ch. hybrida Breeding Resident Non-breeding Vagrant (seasonality uncertain) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The whiskered tern (Chlidonias hybrida) is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khelidonios, "swallow-like", from khelidon, "swallow". The specific hybridus is Latin for hybrid; Peter Simon Pallas thought it might be a hybrid of white-winged black tern and common tern, writing "Sterna fissipes [Chlidonias leucopterus] et Hirundine [Sterna hirundo] natam".