- Sterna striata
Identification
It has a long black bill and short black legs. The head is capped in black to below the eye, leaving a white area above the bill. The upperparts and upperwings are a pearly grey/white, and the neck, underparts and underwings are white.
Distribution
The White-fronted Tern is the most common tern in New Zealand. It breeds along the coast of the New Zealand mainland, also Auckland and Chatham Islands. Visits other subantarctic islands. Many birds, including most juveniles, will winter in Australian waters.
Taxonomy
Three recognized subspecies
- S. s. striata in Australia and New Zealand
- S. s. incerta in Australia
- S. s. aucklandorna in Auckland Islands and Chatham Islands
Habitat
Coastal waters and harbours. Roosts on sandspits and shellbanks and is rarely seen inland. Large flocks will form over shoaling fish, mainly in the summer and autumn.
Behaviour
White-fronted Terns feed in large flocks by plunge diving on shoals of smelt and pilchards which have been driven to the surface by larger fish and are easily caught. Like all terns they fly with their heads and bills pointing down to see their prey. Voice: The call is a high pitched siet. Breeding is between October and January in large colonies on rocky cliffs and offshore islands
