Hybridisation in terns is not as frequent as in gulls; however, some mixed pairings have been noted.
Marsh terns
editHybridisation between white-winged black tern and black tern has been recorded from Sweden[1] and the Netherlands.[2] Two juvenile birds at Chew Valley Lake, England, in September 1978 and September 1981, were also believed to be hybrids; they showed mixed characteristics of the two species, specifically a combination of a dark mantle (a feature of white-winged black) with dark patches on the breast-side (a feature of black tern, not shown by white-winged black).[3][4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ (in Swedish) Alexandersson, H. (1979) En hybridisering mellan vitvingad tärna Childonias leucopterus och svarttärna Childonias niger på Öland 1978 Calidris 8: 151-53
- ^ (in Dutch) Van IJzendoorn, E. J. (1980) Broedgeval van Zwarte Childonias niger × Witvleugelstern C. leucopterus Dutch Birding 2: 62-65
- ^ Vinicombe, Keith (1980) Tern showing mixed characters of Black Tern and White-winged Black Tern British Birds 73(5): 223-25
- ^ Davis, A. H. (1982) Tern showing mixed characters of Black and White-winged Black Tern British Birds 75(12): 579-80