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
White tern White tern The white tern ("Gygis alba") is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. It is sometimes known as the fairy tern although this name is potentially confusing as it is the common name of the fairy tern ("Sternula nereis"). Other names for the species include angel tern and white noddy. The white tern was first formally described by the Swedish naturalist Anders Sparrman in 1786 under the binomial name "Sterna alba". The genus "Gygis" was introduced by the German zoologist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. The name "Gygis" is from the Ancient Greek "guges"