White-fronted Tern

SCI Name:  Sterna striata
Protonym:  Sterna striata Syst.Nat. 1 pt2 p.609
Taxonomy:  Charadriiformes / Laridae / Sterna
Taxonomy Code:  whfter1
Type Locality:  New Zealand.
Author:  Gmelin, JF
Publish Year:  1789
IUCN Status:  Near Threatened

DEFINITIONS

STERNA
(Laridae; Ϯ Common Tern S. hirundo) Old English names Stern, Stearn or Starn for the Black Tern (cf. Swedish Tärna; Norwegian Terne); "70. STERNA.  Rostrum edentulum, subulatum, rectum, acutum apice compressiusculo.  Nares lineares." (Linnaeus 1758); "Sterna Linné, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 137. Type, by tautonymy, Sterna hirundo Linné (Sterna, prebinomial specific name in synonymy)." (Peters 1934, II, 331). Linnaeus's Sterna comprised three species (S. stolida, S. Hirundo, S. nigra).
Var. Stenia, Terna.
Synon. Chelido, Gygisterna, Potamochelidon, Pseudosterna, Seena, Thalassaea.

sterna
Mod. L. sterna tern.

striata
L. striatus  striated  < striare  to striate  < stria  furrow (see also striatus).
● ex “Blue-striped Roller” of Latham 1781 (Aplonis).
● “Tringa striata Linn., 1766, used in the former edition of the List, has been shown to refer to the Redshank and not to the Purple Sandpiper” (BOU 1915) (syn. Calidris maritima).
● ex “Choucas de la Nouvelle Guinée” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 629, and “New-Guinea Crow” of Latham 1781 (Coracina).
● ex “Promérops de la nouvelle Guinée” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 638, and “Promérops brun à ventre rayé” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (syn. Epimachus fastuosus).
● ex “Transverse Striped Dove” or “Barred Dove” of Edwards 1751, and “Turtur Sinensis striatus” and “Turtur Indicus striatus” of Brisson 1760 (Geopelia).
● ex “Rasle rayé des Philippines” of Brisson 1760 (Lewinia).
● ex “Gros-bec de l’Île de Bourbon” of Brisson 1760 (Lonchura).
● (Statius Müller 1776) ex “Pic rayé de St. Domingue” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 281 (Melanerpes).
● (Boddaert 1783) ex “Picus dominicensis striatus” of Brisson 1760, and “Pic rayé de St. Domingue” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 281 (syn. Melanerpes striatus).
● (J. Gmelin 1788) ex “Picus dominicensis striatus” of Brisson 1760, “Pic rayé de St. Domingue” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 281, and “Rayed Woodpecker” of Latham 1782 (syn. Melanerpes striatus).
● ex “Onglet” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Furrow-clawed Tanager” of Latham 1783 (syn. Pipraeidea bonariensis).
● ex “Traquet à Queue Striée” of Levaillant 1806, pl. 188, fig. 1 (syn. Saxicoloides fulicatus).
● ex "Blackpoll Warbler" of Latham 1783 and Pennant 1785 (syn. Setophaga striata).
● ex “Striated Tern” of Latham 1785 (Sterna).
● ex “Totanus striatus” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Tringa totanus).
● ex “Striped-headed Finch” of Latham 1783, and “Striped Finch” of Pennant 1785 (syn. Zonotrichia albicollis).

SUBSPECIES

White-fronted Tern (incerta)
SCI Name: Sterna striata incerta
incerta / incertum / incertus
L. incertus  uncertain, doubtful  <  in-  not; certus  definite, certain, sure  < cernere  to separate.  Used of species of doubtful status, perhaps because of trivial differences, or of uncertain systematic position.  Some examples are given below.
• "Sp. 54.  Eupetes incertus, nov. sp.  ...  L'apparenza dell' individuo descritto non è quella di un adulto; per le dimensioni si avvicina all' Eupetes leucostictus, Sclat., ma ha il tarso più lungo, il becco più breve, ed un' apparenza tale, per cui non è possibile che sia il giovane di quella specie, tanto più che manca affatto ogni traccia di macchie bianche sulle cuopritrici delle ali e sugli apici delle timoniere.  Inoltre la fascia rossigna obliqua sulla faccia inferiore delle ali, risultante dalle macchie dello stesso colore, poste presso la base delle remiganti, la fanno distinguere da ogni altra specie." (Salvadori 1875) (Amalocichla).
• "135. F.  INCERTA (N.),  P. incertain, chinsoun.   Cette fringille, qu'on ne peut comparer à aucune des précédentes, a le corps svelte, le dos d'un gris verdâtre, la tête obscure, la gorge d'un gris roussâtre, la poitrine et le ventre blancs; les ailes cont noires, bordées de roussâtre, qui forment deux espèces de bandes très légèrement imprimées  ...  App. Octobre.  Séj. De passage.  Dép. Novembre." (Risso 1826) (syn. Carpodacus erythrinus).
• "CARPODACUS  INCERTS, sp. n.   Ad. ♀ .  Closely allied to C. edwardsi, Verr., from N. India and Western China, but differs in having a smaller bill; no pale spotted feathers on the forehead; no very well-marked pale buff superciliary stripe; the under-parts darker brownish-buff; the under tail-coverts similarly coloured, and with dark shaft-stripes.  ...  The only male of this species procured by Mr, Goodfellow is an immature bird in the brown plumage similar to that of the female." (Ogilvie-Grant 1906) (syn. Carpodacus formosanus).
• "200.  Charadrius bicinctus incertus subsp. n.   Western Double-banded Dottrel.  ...  Differs from C. b. bicinctus in having the black band on the breast narrower." (Mathews 1912) (syn. Charadrius bicinctus).
• "1168  Myzomela pectoralis incerta subsp. n.  ...  Queensland Banded Honey Eater.  ...  Differs from M. p. pectoralis in its smaller size: wing 63 mm., typical wing 66-74 mm." (Mathews 1912) (syn. Cissomela pectoralis).
• "3.  Turturœna incerta.   ...   The type specimen is a bird which was alive in the Zoological Society's Gardens; it has a great resemblance to the female of T. iriditorques, but it differs in having the tail entirely slate-black, without any rufous-brown tinge, and with no yellowish-buff band at the tip of the lateral feathers.   Hab. Unknown."  (Salvadori 1893) (syn. Columba iriditorques).
• "Campephaga incerta n. sp.   Zusammen mit Campephaga Boyeri (Puch.) (siehe unten) kommt auf der Insel Jobi, in der Geelvinksbai, eine Form vor, welche sich zwar in ihrem allgemeinen Habitus an manche der überhaupt untereinander sehr nahe verwandten Arten dieser Gattung eng auschliesst, aber mit keiner bekannten genau übereinstimmt und daher vorläufig als neue Art beschrieben werden muss.  Da ich jedoch leider nur ein Exemplar und zwar nur ein Weibchen bei Ansus auf der Insel Jobi im April 1873 erbeutete und daher das ausgefärbte Männchen mir unbekannt geblieben ist, so nenne ich die Art: C. incerta."(Meyer 1874) (Edolisoma).
• "1361.  Munia pectoralis incerta subsp. n.   Northern White-breasted Finch.  ...  Differs from M. p. pectoralis in being brown and not blue-grey above." (Mathews 1912) (syn. Heteromunia pectoralis).
• "Pitohui incertus nov. spec.  ...  These four examples apparently belong to an undescribed species of the genus Pitohui.  They somewhat resemble P. ferrugineus, but they are much duller brown and considerably smaller.  Nos. 38 and 243 seem to be adult birds, nos. 47 and 48 are still young ones." (van Oort 1909) (Pseudorectes).
• "PSITTACUS  INCERTUS.  ...  THE BLUE-GREEN PARROT.  ...  The present species of Parrot does not appear to have been distinctly described by any ornithological writer.  In size it considerably exceeds the Psittacus pullarius of Linnæus, measuring about seven inches in length.  Its general habit is rather distinguished by an appearance of strength than delicacy  ...  This bird is supposed to be a native of India, and was in the possession of Lady Read, with whom it lived during the space of nine years." (Shaw 1807) (syn. Psittinus cyanurus).
• "PROCELLARIA  INCERTA.   Je n'ai pu rapporter cette espèce à aucune de celles décrites jusqu'à ce jour.  Elle paraît être voisine de la Procellaria rostrata de Peale, Cassin, United States Explor., Birds, 1858, p. 412, pl. 41, mais elle a les souscaudales de couleur foncée et non pas blanches, et ses teintes tirent beaucoup moins au brun.  Le prince Bonaparte, en examinant nos individus, y avait mis le nom d'Aestrelata rostrata, mais dans son ouvrage, p. 189, il cite la rostrata comme sous-espèce de moindre taille de la désolata, qui elle-même n'a que la moitié de la taille de notre Procellaria incerta.  Je me suis donc vu dans la nécessité, afin d'éviter des erreurs, de décrire notre oiseau sous une dénomination différente." (Schlegel 1863) (Pterodroma).
• "1184.  Gliciphila albifrons incerta subsp. n.   Victorian White-fronted Honey Eater.  ...  Differs from G. a. albifrons in its darker throat, and larger size." (Mathews 1912) (syn. Purnella albifrons).
• "Sporophila incerta sp. nov.  ...  Similar to Sporophila grisea Gmelin, but larger, darker above, and with the white below more restricted.  ...  I can find no record for Sporophila grisea from Ecuador and while the relationship of the above described specimen would probably be better expressed by a trinomial, I prefer for the present to use a binomial." (Riley 1914) (subsp. Sporophila schistacea).
• "161.  Sterna striata incerta subsp. n.   Australian White-fronted Tern.  ...  Differs from S. s. striata in its slightly smaller size and darker wings.  ...  As Sterna melanorhyncha Gould is preoccupied it becomes necessary to give this bird a new name." (Mathews 1912) (subsp. Sterna striata).
• "Thamnophilus incertus Pelzeln.  (N. 538).  ...  Thamnophilus sp. Natterer Catal. msc.   Hab. Pará.  Feminae Th. polionoti valde similis sed rostro angustiore et gastraeo multo clariore." (von Pelzeln 1869) (subsp. Thamnophilus aethiops).
• "9.  Zosterops incerta, sp. nov.  ...  Secondo lo Sharpe, cui ho inviato alcuni essemplari di questa specie, essa somiglia alla Z. auriventer, Hume, ma ne differisce per avere dimensioni maggiori, il becco molto più grande, ed il colore cenerino dei lati del corpo meno puro.  A me sembra che gl' individui suddetti somiglino molto alla figura ed alla descrizione della Z. ceylonensis (Legge, B. of Ceyl. p. 585, pl. 26, f. 2), che viene considerata come esclusiva di Ceylon!" (Salvadori 1892) (syn. Zosterops salvadorii).

White-fronted Tern (striata)
SCI Name: Sterna striata striata
striata
L. striatus  striated  < striare  to striate  < stria  furrow (see also striatus).
● ex “Blue-striped Roller” of Latham 1781 (Aplonis).
● “Tringa striata Linn., 1766, used in the former edition of the List, has been shown to refer to the Redshank and not to the Purple Sandpiper” (BOU 1915) (syn. Calidris maritima).
● ex “Choucas de la Nouvelle Guinée” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 629, and “New-Guinea Crow” of Latham 1781 (Coracina).
● ex “Promérops de la nouvelle Guinée” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 638, and “Promérops brun à ventre rayé” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (syn. Epimachus fastuosus).
● ex “Transverse Striped Dove” or “Barred Dove” of Edwards 1751, and “Turtur Sinensis striatus” and “Turtur Indicus striatus” of Brisson 1760 (Geopelia).
● ex “Rasle rayé des Philippines” of Brisson 1760 (Lewinia).
● ex “Gros-bec de l’Île de Bourbon” of Brisson 1760 (Lonchura).
● (Statius Müller 1776) ex “Pic rayé de St. Domingue” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 281 (Melanerpes).
● (Boddaert 1783) ex “Picus dominicensis striatus” of Brisson 1760, and “Pic rayé de St. Domingue” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 281 (syn. Melanerpes striatus).
● (J. Gmelin 1788) ex “Picus dominicensis striatus” of Brisson 1760, “Pic rayé de St. Domingue” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 281, and “Rayed Woodpecker” of Latham 1782 (syn. Melanerpes striatus).
● ex “Onglet” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Furrow-clawed Tanager” of Latham 1783 (syn. Pipraeidea bonariensis).
● ex “Traquet à Queue Striée” of Levaillant 1806, pl. 188, fig. 1 (syn. Saxicoloides fulicatus).
● ex "Blackpoll Warbler" of Latham 1783 and Pennant 1785 (syn. Setophaga striata).
● ex “Striated Tern” of Latham 1785 (Sterna).
● ex “Totanus striatus” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Tringa totanus).
● ex “Striped-headed Finch” of Latham 1783, and “Striped Finch” of Pennant 1785 (syn. Zonotrichia albicollis).

White-fronted Tern (aucklandorna)
SCI Name: Sterna striata aucklandorna
aucklandorna
Auckland Is., Southern Ocean; Gr. ορνεον orneon bird (syn. Sterna striata).