Chlidonias hybrida
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
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".
This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in size and minor plumage details. The tropical forms are resident, but European and Asian birds winter south to Africa and the Indian subcontinent. A tagged whiskered tern was spotted at Manakudi Bird Sanctuary, Kanniyakumari District of Tamil Nadu, India in the month of April 2021.
This species breeds in colonies on inland marshes, sometimes amongst black-headed gulls, which provide some protection. The scientific name arises from the fact that this, the largest marsh tern, show similarities in appearance to both the white Sterna terns and to black tern.
The size, black cap, strong bill (29–34 mm in males, 25–27 mm and stubbier in females, with a pronounced gonys) and more positive flight recall common... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karachi | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | |
| 2 | Srinagar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Manila | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 4 | Kuwait City | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | |
| 5 | Rajkot | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Davao City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 7 | Luxor | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 8 | Makassar | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 9 | Cairo | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 10 | Kochi | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Whiskered Tern sighting in Antalya on a given day, based on 45 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 59th most-seen of the 131 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Whiskered Tern in Antalya on a given day, against under 5% in June–July and November–April, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Whiskered Tern sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
32nd of 85
Of the 85 cities where we can rate Whiskered Tern sightings, Antalya ranks 32nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Karachi (Pakistan, about 40%), Srinagar (India, about 40%) and Manila (Philippines, about 30%).
Same family: Laridae
The closest relatives of the Whiskered Tern that you can see in Antalya (family Laridae, Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers) are Yellow-legged Gull (about 60%), Black-headed Gull (about 30%) and Mediterranean Gull (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Whiskered Tern is recorded against all the birds logged in Antalya (45 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
