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. Small bird that inhabits tropical coasts and inshore waters
Scientific Name: Sterna repressa
Common Name: White-cheeked Tern
Dimensions: Length: 33 cm
Medium: model
Registration Number: RPN.2018.0354.2
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The white-cheeked tern is a bird with slender, short wings, short legs, and a slightly curved bill. Breeding adults are dark silver-grey on top with a grey underbody, featuring a white center area on the underwings and paler outer wings. They have a noticeable white cheek stripe, a black head cap, and a distinguishable long tail-fork. In winter, they appear uniformly dull grey from above, including the lower back and tail. Juveniles display a broad blackish band on the forewings, darker upper wings, and an underwing similar to adult birds.
Habitat and Biology
The white-cheeked tern is commonly found in tropical coastal regions and nearshore waters. It primarily forages within three km inland and over coral areas, occasionally venturing up to 10 km offshore. Its diet mainly comprises small fish, averaging around five cm in length. This species nests in shallow depressions on rock, sand, gravel, bare coral, sandflats, sand-dunes, and beaches. It forms breeding colonies alongside other tern species, typically consisting of 10-200 pairs. In Qatar, it is a migratory bird that breeds during the summer on offshore islands. It is frequently seen along the beaches, in mixed flocks together with other tern species.
ECO System Qatar
Mangroves are saltwater-adapted trees and shrubs growing in coastal areas' intertidal zones. Their intricate root systems offer natural fish habitats, serve as marine species nurseries, and protect coastlines from erosion by waves and storms. Qatar hosts the Avicennia Marina species, commonly called grey or white mangroves, mainly on the east coast. The most significant mangrove forests are at Al Thakira and Al Khor, boasting the oldest and largest mangroves. Despite ongoing reforestation efforts by the government, development led to the uprooting of the mangrove lake in Al Wakra.
PUBLICATIONS AND RESEARCH
Jennings, Michael C. (Author), Krupp, Friedhelm (Editor), Al-Suwaiyel, Mohammed bin Ibrahim (Preface By). (Series: Fauna of Arabia, Volume: 25). Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia. Publisher: Karger Libri. 2010.