Editing Roseate tern (section)

==Taxonomy==
English naturalist [[George Montagu (naturalist)|George Montagu]] described the roseate tern in 1813.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Montagu | first=George | author-link=George Montagu (naturalist) | year=1813 | chapter=Tern-Roseate ''Sterna dougallii'' | title=Supplement to the Ornithological Dictionary, or Synopsis of British Birds | location=Exeter, England | publisher=Printed by S. Woolmer | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgkAAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP458 }} The pages are not numbered.</ref> Genetically, it is most closely related to the [[white-fronted tern]] (''S. striata''), with their common ancestor a sister lineage to the [[black-naped tern]] (''S. sumatrana'').<ref name=bridge>{{cite journal |last=Bridge |first=Eli S |author2=Jones, Andrew W |author3=Baker, Allan J |year=2005 |title=A phylogenetic framework for the terns (Sternini) inferred from mtDNA sequences: implications for taxonomy and plumage evolution |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=35 |pages=459–469 |url=http://scholar.library.csi.cuny.edu/~fburbrink/Courses/Vertebrate%20systematics%20seminar/Bridge%20et%20al%202005%20.pdf |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2004.12.010 |pmid=15804415 |issue=2 |bibcode=2005MolPE..35..459B |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419093510/http://scholar.library.csi.cuny.edu/~fburbrink/Courses/Vertebrate%20systematics%20seminar/Bridge%20et%20al%202005%20.pdf |archive-date=2011-04-19 }}</ref>

This species has a number of geographical subspecies, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details.

''S. d. dougallii '' breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America, and [[bird migration|winters]] south to the [[Caribbean]] and west Africa. Both the European and North American populations have been in long-term decline, though active conservation measures have reversed the decline in the last few years at some colonies, most notably at [[Rockabill Island]] off the coast of Dublin, Ireland, which now holds most of the European population (about 1200 pairs).
The tropical forms ''S. d. korustes'' and ''S. d. bangsi'' are resident breeders from east Africa across the Indian Ocean to [[Japan]]. They have more red on the bill. The long-billed and short-winged ''S. d. gracilis'' breeds in [[Australia]] and [[New Caledonia]]. The north-western Indian Ocean holds populations of ''S. d. arideensis''. Some authors suggest that only three subspecies, nominate ''S. d. dougallii'', ''S. d. arideensis'', and ''S. d. gracilis'', should be retained.<ref>Gochfeld, M. & Burger, J. 1996. Family Sternidae (terns). In: Del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A A. & Sargatal, J. (Eds). Handbook of birds of the world, Vol. 3. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 624–667.</ref><ref>Tree, AJ (2005) The known history and movements of the Roseate Tern ''Sterna dougallii'' in South Africa and the western Indian Ocean. Marine Ornithology 33:41-47 [http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/33_1/33_1_41-47.pdf PDF]</ref>