- ‹ previous
- 172 of 415
- next ›
Recordings
Scientific Name
Gelochelidon nilotica
Arabic Name
الخرشنة نورسية المنقار
Kuwaiti name
خطاف
Family
Width
100.0 cm
Length
38.0 cm
Similar species
Information
Very common summer visitor and common resident. Breeds on Warba and Bubiyan; about 1600 breeding adults recorded in late March on Bubiyan in 2004. Although usually coastal, this tern can also be found foraging inland.
Where in Kuwait
Primarily a coastal bird and more common in the north than the south most of the year round other than summer when it breeds on the northern off-shore islands. One of the few marine Terns that can be recorded over inland pools and ponds
In the world
It has an extremely large range with a stable population and breeds in warmer parts of the world. Northern breeding populations of this species are migratory, dispersing widely after breeding before travelling southwards to the wintering grounds. This is a somewhat an atypical tern; in appearance like a Sterna tern, but with feeding habits more like the Chlidonias marsh terns, Black Tern and White-winged Tern. It does not normally plunge dive for fish like the other white terns, and has a broader diet than most other terns.
Local threats
Marine oil spills and pollution and disturbance during summer breeding