Articles
July 14 2025
Vol. 95 No. 1 (2025)
The diet of Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica breeding in the Po Delta (NE Italy)
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
442
Views
27
Downloads
Authors
The present study provides the first data on the diet of Gull-billed Terns (Gelochelidon nilotica) nesting in the Po Delta. A total of 445 prey items were found in pellets collected on a colony in a fish farm on June 11, 2018. Pellets contained mostly Invertebrata (403 items), of which the majority were Insecta (50.8%, mainly Orthoptera: 22.7%) and, to a lesser extent, Crustacea (22%, exclusively Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus clarkii) and Mollusca (17.8%, mostly Gasteropoda: 16.2%), whereas Vertebrata accounted for only 9.4% (42 items, mostly Amphibia: 8.3%). Gull-billed Terns nesting in the Po Delta follow a diet with a predominance of Insecta, but with significant shares of Crustacea and Mollusca and, to a lesser extent, Amphibia, thus confirming the flexibility of the species in adapting to the prey availability of the foraging area.
Altmetrics
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Citations
Ataei F., Etezadifar F., Sharikabad V. N. & Barati A., 2014 – Nestling growth and nest success of Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica (Aves: Sternidae) in western Iran. Italian Journal of Zoology, 81: 425-430.
Bertolero A. & Rivaes S., 2015 – Synthèse des connaissances sur le régime alimentaire de la Sterne Hansel Gelochelidon nilotica en région méditerranéenne. Revue d’Écologie, 70: 83-90.
BirdLife International, 2024 – Species factsheet: common Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica. <https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/common-gull-billed-tern-gelochelidon-nilotica>
Bogliani G., Fasola M., Canova L. & Saino N., 1990 – Food and foraging rhythm of a specialized Gull-billed Tern population Gelochelidon nilotica. Ethology Ecology & Evolution, 2: 175-181.
Bogliani G., Fasola M., Canova L., Saino N., 1994 - Prey selection by parents and chicks of the Little Tern Sterna albifrons. Avocetta, 18: 9-11.
Borodulina T. L., 1960 – Biology and economic importance of gulls and terns of southern USSR water bodies (1966 translation from Russian). Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem.
Britto V. O., Gil-Delgado Alberti J. A., Gosálvez R. U., López Iborra G. M. & Velasco Á., 2018 – Foraging habitat selection by gull–billed tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) in Central Spain (Castilla–La Mancha). Animal Biodiversity and Conservation, 41: 301-310.
Cabo J. M. & Sanchez J. M., 1986 – Nouvelles données sur Gelochelidon nilotica au Maroc et sur son régime alimentaire. Alauda, 54: 207-212.
Correia A., 2001 – Seasonal and interspecific evaluation of predation by mammals and birds on the introduced red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Crustacea, Cambaridae) in a freshwater marsh (Portugal). Journal of Zoology, London, 255: 533-541.
Costa L., 1984 – Alimentacion de la Pagaza piconegra (Gelochelidon nilotica) en las marismas del Gualdalquivir, Donana. Acta Vertebrata, ii: 185-195.
Cramp S., 1985 – Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Vol. IV. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Del Hoyo J., Elliott A. & Sargatal J., 1996 – Handbook of the birds of the world, vol. 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
Delany S. & Scott D., 2006 – Waterbird population estimates. Wetlands International, Wageningen.
EIONET, 2021 – Reporting under Article 12 of the Birds Directive. Period 2013-2018. <https://www.eionet.europa.eu>
Fasola M. & Bogliani G., 1990 – Foraging ranges of an assemblage of Mediterranean seabirds. Colonial Waterbirds, 13: 72-74.
Fitzinger L. J., 1843 – Systema reptilium: fasciculus primus: Amblyglossae (Vol. 1). Braumüller & Seidel.
Giordano J. & Battisti C., 2023 – The non native Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus Clarkii as prey for waterbirds: a note from Torre Flavia wetland (Central Italy). Alula, 30: 194-199.
Goodenough K. S., Patton R. T. & Lorda J., 2023 – Dietary plasticity mitigates impacts to reproduction for the Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica during abnormally warm sea surface temperature events in California, USA. Waterbirds, 45: 450-460.
Goutner V., 1991 – Food and feeding ecology of Gull-billed terns (Gelochelidon nilotica) in Greece. Revue d’Écologie, 46: 373-384.
Grussu M., Scarton F., Verza E. & Valle R. G., 2019 – Long term trends and breeding parameters of Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica in three Italian coastal sites. Rivista italiana di ornitologia, 89. DOI: 10.4081/rio.2019.438
Hering J., Fischer S., Geiter O., Wobker J. & Siegel S., 2021 – Breeding colonies of Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica and Little Tern Sternula albifrons on Lake Nasser, Egypt. Sandgrouse, 43: 194-215.
Møller A. P., 1982 – Coloniality and colony structure in Gull-billed Terns Gelochelidon nilotica. J. Ornithology, 123: 41-53.
Quinn J. S. & Wiggins D.A., 1990 – Differences in prey delivered to chicks by individual Gull-billed Terns. Colonial Waterbirds, 13: 67-69.
Sánchez J. M., Muñoz del Viejo A. & De la Cruz C., 1991 – Segregación alimentaria entre adultos y pollos de Gelochelidon nilotica (Gm., 1789) en la laguna de Fuente de Piedra. Ardeola, 38: 21-27.
Sánchez J.M., Muñoz Del Viejo A., Corbacho C., Costillo E. & Fuentes C., 2004 – Status and trends of Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica in Europe and Africa. Bird Conservation International, 14: 335-351.
Scarton F. & Valle R.G., 2020 – Drone assessment of habitat selection and breeding success of Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica nesting on low-accessibility sites: a case study. Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia, 90: 69-76.
Scridel D., Serra L., Pirrello S., Basso M., Franzoi A., Cardillo A., Mengoni C., Ramazzotti F., Verza E., Imperio S. & Cecere J. G., 2023 – Sex-mediated changes in foraging behaviour according to breeding stage in a monomorphic seabird adapted to rural habitats. Animal Behaviour, 198: 181-193.
Simpson E. H., 1949 – Measurement of Diversity. Nature, 163.
Valle R. G. & Verza E., 2020 – I laro-limicoli (Charadriiformes) nidificanti nel Delta del Po Veneto (RO) nel periodo 2015-2018. Bolletttino Museo Storia Naturale Venezia, 71: 123-126.
Valle R. G. & Scarton, F. 2021 – Monitoring the hatching success of gulls Laridae and terns Sternidae: a comparison of ground and drone methods. Acta Ornithologica, 56: 241-254.
Wu F., Lei W., Lloyd H. & Zhang Z., 2020 – Predictors of Gull-billed tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) nest survival in artificial coastal saltpans, Bohai Bay, China. PeerJ, 8: e10054.
Zubakin V. & Kostin Y., 1977 – The breeding birds of Chongarskiye Islands. Ornithology, 13: 49-55.
How to Cite
The diet of Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica breeding in the Po Delta (NE Italy). (2025). Rivista Italiana Di Ornitologia, 95(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/rio.2024.818
Copyright (c) 2024 Roberto G. Valle, Francesco Fava
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.