Text extracted from Gill B.J.; Bell, B.D.; Chambers, G.K.; Medway, D.G.; Palma, R.L.; Scofield, R.P.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Worthy, T.H. 2010. Checklist of the birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica. 4th edition. Wellington, Te Papa Press and Ornithological Society of New Zealand. Pages 191, 223, 230 & 234-235.

Order CHARADRIIFORMES: Waders, Gulls and Terns The family sequence of Christidis & Boles (1994), who adopted that of Sibley et al. (1988) and Sibley & Monroe (1990), is followed here.

Suborder LARI: Skuas, Gulls, Terns and Skimmers Condon (1975) and Checklist Committee (1990) recognised three subfamilies within the Laridae (Larinae, Sterninae and Megalopterinae) but this division has not been widely adopted. We follow Gochfeld & Burger (1996) in recognising gulls in one family (Laridae) and terns and noddies in another (Sternidae). The sequence of species for Stercorariidae and Laridae follows Peters (1934) and for Sternidae follows Bridge et al. (2005).

Family STERNIDAE Bonaparte: Terns and Noddies Sterninae Bonaparte, 1838: Geogr. Comp. List. Birds: 61 – Type genus Sterna Linnaeus, 1758.

Most recommendations from a new study of tern and noddy relationships, based on mtDNA (Bridge et al. 2005), have already been adopted by the Taxonomic Subcommittee of the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (Sangster et al. 2005) and the American Ornithologists’ Union Committee on Classification and Nomenclature (Banks, R.C. et al. 2006). This follows many years of disagreement about the generic classification of terns for which 3–12 genera have recently been used (see Bridge et al. 2005). The genera and their sequence recommended by Bridge et al. (2005) are accepted here, with the exception that we place the crested tern in Sterna rather than Thalasseus, because the evidence for the latter association is weaker (Sangster et al. 2005).

Genus Onychoprion Onychoprion Wagler, 1832: Isis von Oken, Heft 2: col. 277 – Type species (by monotypy) Sterna serrata J.R. Forster = Onychoprion fuscatus serratus (J.R. Forster).

The gender of the genus Onychoprion is masculine, therefore, according to Article 30.1.2 of ICZN (1999), the species and subspecies names for New Zealand taxa should be O. fuscatus serratus and O. anaethetus.

Onychoprion fuscatus (Linnaeus) Sooty Tern Sterna fuscata Linnaeus, 1766: Syst. Nat., 12th edition 1: 228 – Santo Domingo, West Indies. Anous fuscatus (Linnaeus); G.R. Gray 1846, Gen. Birds 3(21): 661. Onychoprion fuscata [sic] (Linnaeus); Christidis & Boles 2008, Syst. Taxon. Australian Birds: 25, 144.

Circumtropical, ranging widely over subtropical seas and sometimes, under stress, into temperate waters. Several subspecies have been described and the number accepted varies among authors; the differences between the subspecies are slight, involving coloration of underparts and measurements; the status of all need re-examination (Higgins & Davies 1996). Although the race O. f. serratus is supposedly confined to breeding around Australia and in the South Pacific (Higgins & Davies 1996), a chick banded at the Kermadec Islands has been found breeding at the Seychelles, Indian Ocean (Cossee 1995), where the supposed race O. f. nubilosus (Sparrman, 1788) breeds (Higgins & Davies 1996).

Onychoprion fuscatus serratus (J.R. Forster) Sooty Tern Sterna serrata J.R. Forster, 1830: in J.G. Wagler, Natur. Syst. Amphib. Säug. Vögel.: 88, note 2 – New Caledonia. Sterna fuliginosa; Cheeseman 1891, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 23: 221. Not Sterna fuliginosa Gmelin, 1789. Onychoprion fuscatus serratus (J.R. Forster); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th ser.): 245. Onychoprion fuscatus kermadeci Mathews, 1916: Austral Avian Rec. 3: 55 – “Kermadec Islands”, error for Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (fide Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 142). Sterna fuscata kermadeci (Mathews); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 338. Sterna fuscata serratus J.R. Forster; Oliver 1955, New Zealand Birds, 2nd edition: 343. Unjustified emendation. Sterna fuscata; Lindsay 1963, Notornis 10: 304. Not Sterna fuscata Linnaeus, 1766. Sterna fuscata serrata J.R. Forster; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 165.

Breeds abundantly in the south-west Pacific, including at Norfolk and Kermadec Islands. Strays to the North Island probably annually, often after storms (Turbott 1952, Jenkins 1962, Powlesland & Powlesland 1994a, Higgins & Davies 1996) and south to Foveaux Strait (Cooper 1991). An exceptional sighting was of at least 13 alive on 27 Jul. 1986 at Pakiri Beach (Fennell 1987). A few fossils have been found in Norfolk Island dunes and on Nepean Island, Norfolk Island Group (Meredith 1985b, 1991).