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Sterna fuscata

Tara (MH)

Sooty Tern

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult in flight	105KB
Image:	Adult standing in nesting ground	134KB
Image:	Nestling in nesting ground	103KB
Image:	Eggs in ground nests	103KB
Sound:	Call (McPherson coll.)	378KB
Image:	Similar species: 5 different Terns	226KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Sooty Tern, Wideawake Tern, Whale Bird, Egg Bird; German Russseeschwalbe

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tala (TS), Tara (TW MH RK), Āli (PK NS)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native, Resident Breeder; Marine, pelagic, nest on Land

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: - Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
++++	-	-	++Vnb	-	P

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Sterna fuscata (Linnaeus, 1766)
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); TETRAPODA; AVES; NEORNITHES; Charadriiformes; STERNIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Sterna fuscata.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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