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Volume 47, No. 1

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First confirmed occurrence of Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus and Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis in Iraq


Authors

OMAR F. AL-SHEIKHLY1, AHMED M. AL-DIRAWI2 & ALI N. AL-BARAZENGY3
1College of Science, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq (alsheikhlyomar@gmail.com)
2Basra Directorate of Environment, Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment, Basra, Iraq
3Department of Marshes and Sustainable Management of Natural Ecosystem, Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment, Baghdad, Iraq

Citation

AL-SHEIKHLY, O.F., AL-DIRAWI, A.M. & AL-BARAZENGY, A.N. 2019. First confirmed occurrence of Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus and Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis in Iraq. Marine Ornithology 47: 1 - 3

Received 5 July 2018, accepted 16 August 2018

Date Published: 2019/04/15
Date Online: 2018/10/29
Key words: Al-Faw Peninsula, Bridled Tern, coastal wetlands, maritime birds, Sandwich Tern, Southern Iraq

Abstract

Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus and Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis are strictly maritime species exhibiting a vast distribution range worldwide. In the 1920s, Bridled Terns were recorded in several localities within the Iraq-Iran geopolitical disputed areas in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf; however, there are no existing records of Sandwich Terns in Iraq. Through recent field observations, we confirm the occurrence of Bridled and Sandwich Terns in the Al-Faw Peninsula, Basra Province, on the northern edge of the Arabian Gulf in extreme southeast Iraq. The status of both species in Iraq is still enigmatic and requires further investigation.

References


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