Spectacled tern Spectacled tern The spectacled tern ("Onychoprion lunatus"), also known as the grey-backed tern, is a seabird in the family Laridae. A close relative of the bridled and sooty terns (with which it is sometimes confused), the spectacled tern is less common than the other members of its genus and it has been studied less. The three species, along with the Aleutian tern were recently split into a new genus "Onychoprion" from "Sterna" (Bridge "et al.", 2005). They resemble the sooty tern but with a grey back instead of a black one. Their breast and underparts are white, and they have
Forster's tern salt ponds, hence increasing the susceptibility of the Forster's tern. High levels of Selenium may also have deleterious effects on their health. Organochlorine contaminants such as PCB may also diminish their breeding success. Forster's tern The Forster's tern ("Sterna forsteri") is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name "Sterna" is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and "forsteri" commemorates the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster. It breeds inland in North America and winters south to the Caribbean and northern Central America. This species is rare but annual in western Europe, and has wintered in Ireland and Great Britain on