Birds

The Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica is a worldwide species. The latin name is from ancient Greek gelao = to laugh, and khelidon = swallow. The nilotica part is…

The Roseate Tern is not often seen away from its breeding sites, most of which are on small islands off-limits to visitors. In the Azores,…

Common terns have long tails which have earned them the nickname ‘sea-swallow’. That is, their Latin species name hirundo means swallow and refers to the tern’s superficial…

Leach’s Storm Petrel are named after the British zoologist William Alford Leach. The scientific name Oceanodroma is from ancient greek okeanos «  ocean », and dromos…

Monteiro Storm Petrel is apparently an endemic species of the archipelago of the Azores. The species is named after the biologist Luis Monteiro, who was…

The Madeiran Storm Petrel is also mainly known as Band-rumped Storm Petrel. This bird is named « band-rumped » for the white band across the top of…

Bulwer’s Petrels are one of the birds for which there is no clear sexual dimorphism. This bird is named, in english, after the Scottish naturalist…

Manx Shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus) gained its English name from the Isle of Man, where these marine birds form large colonies. It is regarded as the…