NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Saunders's Tern
Sternula saundersi (Hume, 1877)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Saunders's tern (Sternula saundersi), sometimes known as the black-shafted tern, is a species of bird in the family Laridae.
It is sparsely resident along the shores of the north-western Indian Ocean (namely southern Somalia, Arabian Peninsula, Socotra, Pakistan, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and northern Sri Lanka).
It is a close relative of the little tern, least tern, yellow-billed tern, and Peruvian tern. In non-breeding plumages, the Saunder's tern and the little tern may be almost indistinguishable. The two have been considered by some to be conspecific.
Wikipedia contributors, Saunders's tern; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:46:28.488430+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sternula saundersi (Hume, 1877)
- Name authority
- (Hume, 1877)
- Common name
- Saunders's Tern
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Laridae
- Genus
- Sternula
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyLaridae
- genusSternula F. Boie, 1822
- speciesSternula saundersi (Hume, 1877)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sternula. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Peruvian TernSternula lorata (Philippi & Landbeck, 1861) | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Australian Fairy TernSternula nereis Gould, 1843 | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-billed TernSternula superciliaris (Vieillot, 1819) | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Little TernSternula albifrons (Pallas, 1764) | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Least TernSternula antillarum R. Lesson, 1847 | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Damara TernSternula balaenarum Strickland, 1853 | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Sterna saundersi Hume, 1877 Hume, 1877 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China)
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=824131 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6ZRWL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.