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The Black-bellied Tern (Sterna acuticauda) is a tern found near large rivers in South Asia. They have a black belly in the summer and a deep forked tail. They can sometimes resemble Whiskered Terns but the deeper fork and the black on the lower belly distinguish it from the shallow fork and black closer to the breast on the Whiskered Tern. Considering that mtDNA sequence analysis supports moving the similar Black-fronted Tern ("Sterna" albostriata) into Chlidonias, this species might also be better placed in that genus, but no research has yet been conducted.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2006). Sterna acuticauda. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is near threatened
- Bridge, E. S.; Jones, A. W. & Baker, A. J. (2005): A phylogenetic framework for the terns (Sternini) inferred from mtDNA sequences: implications for taxonomy and plumage evolution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35: 459–469. PDF fulltext.
