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
Little tern Little tern The little tern ("Sternula albifrons") is a seabird of the family Sternidae. It was formerly placed into the genus "Sterna", which now is restricted to the large white terns. The genus name is a diminutive of "Sterna", "tern". The specific "albifrons" is from Latin "albus", "white", and "frons", "forehead". The former North American ("S. a. antillarum") and Red Sea "S. a. saundersi" subspecies are now considered to be separate species, the least tern ("Sternula antillarum") and Saunders's tern ("Sternula saundersi"). This bird breeds on the coasts and inland waterways of temperate and tropical Europe and Asia. It is