Fairy tern
Fairy tern | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Laridae |
Genus: | Sternula |
Species: | S. nereis
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Binomial name | |
Sternula nereis Gould, 1843
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Subspecies | |
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Synonyms | |
Sterna nereis |
The fairy tern (Sternula nereis) is a small
There are three subspecies:
- Australian fairy tern, Sternula nereis nereis (Gould, 1843) – breeds in Australia
- New Caledonian fairy tern, Sternula nereis exsul (Mathews, 1912) – breeds in New Caledonia
- New Zealand fairy tern, Sternula nereis davisae (Mathews & Iredale, 1913) – breeds in northern New Zealand
Description
The fairy tern is a small tern with a white body and light bluish-grey wings. A small black patch extends no further than the eye and not as far as the bill. In the breeding plumage both the beak and the legs are yellowish-orange. During the rest of the year the black crown is lost, being mostly replaced by white feathers, and the beak becomes black at the tip and the base. The sexes look alike and the plumage of immature birds is similar to the non-breeding plumage. The total length of the fairy tern is about 25 cm (10 in).[2]
Behaviour
The fairy tern mainly feeds on fish which it catches by hovering over the sea before plunging beak first into the water to grab its prey. It seldom goes far out to sea but is often to be seen where predatory fish are feeding on shoals of small fish. It also consumes
Breeding takes place in the spring in colonies on sheltered beaches on the mainland or on offshore islands. The nest is just above high-water mark and is a scrape in the sand. One or two eggs are laid and both parents share the incubation and care of the chicks and have occasionally been seen providing post-fledging parental care.[3]
Status
Formerly classified as a Species of
References
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Fairy Tern: Sterna nereis". Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
- ^ a b c "Species factsheet: Sterna nereis". BirdLife International. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
- ^ "Rarest bird in the country gets a helping hand". 23 August 2018.
- Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine, Last Chance to See (Ballantine Books, 1992, ISBN 0-345-37198-4)