Gelochelidon

Gelochelidon
	Australian tern (Gelochelidon macrotarsa)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Laridae
Subfamily:	Sterninae
Genus:	Gelochelidon; Brehm, CL, 1830
Type species
	Gelochelidon meridionalis = Sterna nilotica; Brehm, 1830
Species
	See text

Gelochelidon is a genus of terns. It was considered a monotypic genus until the Australian tern was split from the gull-billed tern.

Taxonomy

The genus Gelochelidon was introduced in 1830 by the German zoologist Alfred Brehm.^[2] The type species is the gull-billed tern.^[3] The name combines the Ancient Greek gelaō meaning "to laugh" with khelidōn meaning "swallow".^[4]

The genus contains 2 species:^[5]

Genus **Gelochelidon** – Brehm, CL, 1830 – two species
Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Gull-billed tern	Gelochelidon nilotica (Gmelin, JF, 1789) Five subspecies G. n. nilotica (Gmelin, 1789) G. n. affinis (Horsfield, 1821) G. n. aranea (Wilson, 1814) G. n. gronvoldi Mathews, 1912	southern Europe, temperate and eastern Asia, both coasts of North America, eastern South America.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Australian tern	Gelochelidon macrotarsa (Gould, 1837)	Australia and New Guinea.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

^ "Laridae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
^ Brehm, Alfred (1830). "Beschluss der Uebersicht der deutschen Vögel". Isis von Oken (in German and Latin). 23. cols 985–1013 [994].
^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1934). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 329.
^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2022). "Noddies, gulls, terns, skimmers, skuas, auks". IOC World Bird List Version 12.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 7 November 2022.

v t e Gulls (family: Laridae)
Genus	Species († indicates a species confirmed to be extinct)
Larus	Pacific gull Belcher's gull Olrog's gull Black-tailed gull Heermann's gull Common gull Short-billed gull Ring-billed gull California gull Great black-backed gull Kelp gull (or Cape gull) Glaucous-winged gull Western gull Yellow-footed gull Glaucous gull Iceland gull Thayer's gull European herring gull American herring gull Yellow-legged gull Caspian gull Vega gull (or East Siberian gull / Mongolian gull) Armenian gull Slaty-backed gull Lesser black-backed gull Heuglin's gull
Ichthyaetus	White-eyed gull Sooty gull Great black-headed gull (or Pallas's gull) Audouin's gull Mediterranean gull Relict gull
Leucophaeus	Dolphin gull Laughing gull Franklin's gull Lava gull Grey gull
Chroicocephalus	Silver gull Red-billed gull Huahine gull † Hartlaub's gull Brown-hooded gull Grey-headed gull (or grey-hooded gull) Andean gull Black-billed gull Brown-headed gull Black-headed gull Slender-billed gull Bonaparte's gull Saunders's gull
Hydrocoloeus	Little gull
Rhodostethia	Ross's gull
Rissa	Black-legged kittiwake Red-legged kittiwake
Pagophila	Ivory gull
Xema	Sabine's gull
Creagrus	Swallow-tailed gull
Gull eggs as food Hybridisation in gulls