Caspian tern
| Caspian tern | |
|---|---|
| Breeding plumage, Canada | |
| Non-breeding plumage, The Gambia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Laridae |
| Genus: | Hydroprogne Kaup, 1829 |
| Species: | H. caspia
|
| Binomial name | |
| Hydroprogne caspia (Pallas, 1770)
| |
| Geographical distribution of Caspian tern. Breeding Migration Year-round Nonbreeding
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia) is the world's largest species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no accepted subspecies. The genus name is from Ancient Greek hudro-, "water-", and Latin progne, "swallow". The specific caspia is from Latin and, like the English name, refers to the Caspian Sea.