Name:Sterna acuticauda
Alias:Sterna acuticauda,Black-bellied Tern
Outline:Waterfowl
Family:Lariformes Laridae Terns
length:29-32cm
Weight:62-68g
Life:20-30years
IUCN:LC
The Black-bellied Tern is a small waterbird with no subspecies.
Black-bellied terns often fly over the waters. It's very rare to stop. The black-bellies mainly feed on small fish. They also eat shrimp, tadpoles, crustaceans, and insects. Often dive underwater to hunt fish. When food is found in the water, it dives vertically and dives to hunt.
The breeding season of black-bellied terns is from March to May. Nests are built on bare sand near open water, and occasionally in sparse grass. They often breed together in groups. Each litter lays 2~4 eggs, mostly 3 animals. The eggs are obtuse oval in shape and are shar yellow in color, with light brown or reddish-brown spots. There are also individual white or light green. The size of the eggs is 30-36 × 23-26 mm. The male and female incubate the eggs in turn. Incubation period is 15 to 16 days.
In southern Asia, where the black-bellied tern is almost extinct in a large part of its range due to numerous threats affecting riverine species, the overall decline has been very rapid. Therefore, it has been listed as endangered.
It was included in the List of Land Wild Animals under State Protection that are beneficial or have important economic and scientific research value (Item 204) issued by the State Forestry Administration of China on August 1, 2000.
Listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) in 2016 ver 3.1 - Endangered (EN).
Listed in China's "National Key Protected Wildlife List" (February 5, 2021) Level 2.
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