Blue-billed White-Tern (Gygis candida)

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Blue-billed white tern
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Gygis
Species:
G. candida
Binomial name
Gygis candida
Gmelin, 1789
Blue-billed white tern in flight in the Cook Islands

The blue-billed white tern (Gygis candida) is a small seabird found in Pacific and Indian oceans.[1] This species was previously considered as conspecific with the Atlantic white tern (Gygis alba) and the little white tern (Gygis microrhyncha), but is now recognised as a separate species.[2][3][4] It is known as manu-o-kū in Hawaiian. In the Cook Islands, it is known as the kakaia.

Taxonomy

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The blue-billed white tern was first formally described by the German ornithologist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789.[3] The species epithet is from Latin candidus (white).

There are two recognized subspecies of the blue-billed white tern:[3]

Description

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A medium-sized all-white tern. The eyes are narrow and are dark in colour. The bill is black in color with blue in the base, hence its name. The shape of the bill is thick and "daggerlike" with a sharp-pointed tip. Legs are slaty-blue in color, with yellow or white webs.[4]

The immature is similar to the adult, except the body and wings are fringed with brown and the base of bill is black in colour.[4]

Distribution and habitat

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Threats and predation

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Giant tortoises have been observed to hunt chicks of this bird on Fregate Island in the Seychelles.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2022). "Gygis candida". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022 e.T216558801A219774358. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T216558801A219774358.en. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  2. ^ Pratt, H. Douglas (2020). "Species limits and English names in the genus Gygis (Laridae)". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 140 (2): 195–208. Bibcode:2020BBrOC.140..195P. doi:10.25226/bboc.v140i2.2020.a10. ISSN 0007-1595.
  3. ^ a b c Christidis, Les; Rheindt, Frank E.; Iliff, Marshall J.; Lepage, Denis; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Donald, Paul; Alström, Per; Areta, Juan Ignacio; Brammer, Frederik; Chesser, Terry; Donsker, David; Dowsett, Bob; Gerbracht, Jeff; Kirsch, Max; Kuziemko, Marek; Lagerqvist, Markus; Littauer, Richard; Longmore, Wayne; Norman, Janette; Peterson, Alan; Schodde, Richard; Schulenberg, Tom; Stervander, Martin (2025). "The Checklist v2025". AviList: The Global Avian Checklist. doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025. Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  4. ^ a b c Niethammer, Kenneth R.; Patrick, Laura B.; Kirwan, Guy M.; Keeney, Brooke K.; Pyle, Peter; Billerman, Shawn M. (2025). "Blue-billed White-Tern (Gygis candida), version 1.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.whiter4.01. ISSN 2771-3105. Archived from the original on 2026-04-25. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  5. ^ Société ornithologique de France.; France, Société ornithologique de; ornithologiques, Société d'études; naturelle (France), Muséum national d'histoire (1976). Alauda : revue internationale d'ornithologie. Vol. 44. Dijon: Société d'études ornithologiques de France. Archived from the original on 2022-05-27. Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  6. ^ Zora, Anna; Gerlach, Justin (2021). "Giant tortoises hunt and consume birds". Current Biology. 31 (16): R989–R990. Bibcode:2021CBio...31.R989Z. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.088. PMID 34428417. Archived from the original on 2024-08-06. Retrieved 2025-11-02.
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Synonyms

  • Gygis alba candida/leucopes
  • Gygis alba
  • BBWT