AGM 2019
Date posted: 09-Sep-2019
Our Annual General Meeting was held at 7:30 pm on Monday 23rd September at the F..
More plaudits for Tiritiri Matangi
Date posted: 15-Jul-2019
Recognition of the wonderful experience visitors have when visiting the Island h..
Results of the 2019 Photo Competition
Date posted: 15-Jul-2019
The results of this year's competition have now been decided. Click here (/2019-photo-co..
Lighthouse Open Day
Date posted: 30-Apr-2019
Our historic lighthouse, signal station and diaphonic foghorn will all be on dis..
We need a new Treasurer
Date posted: 08-Apr-2019
The Supporters need a new treasurer to take over in September when Kevin Vaughan..
2019 Concert
Date posted: 05-Feb-2019
OrigiNZ, the tartan taonga are returning for the 2019 concert.
Click..
Tiri's three unique foghorns
Date posted: 01-Feb-2019
Our next social event will take place on Monday 18th March when Carl Hayson and ..
Young Conservation Superstars win awards!
Date posted: 27-Jan-2019
Gabriel Barbosa and teacher Kate Asher, a team leader who co..
Entries for the 2019 photo competition
Date posted: 19-Jan-2019
We are now taking entries for the 2019 photographic competition. You can enter u..
Hihi volunteer needed
Date posted: 18-Oct-2018
Would you like to volunteer with the Island's hihi team and learn from them how ..
White-fronted Tern
|
Scientific name: |
Sterna striata striata |
|
|
|
|
Conservation status: |
Native. At risk - declining |
|
Mainland status: |
c15,000 - 20,000 pairs (1997) |
|
Size: |
42cm, 160g |
|
Lifespan: |
Oldest recorded - 26 years |
|
Breeding: |
October - January |
|
Diet: |
Small fish |
The White Fronted Tern is the most common tern in New Zealand. 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 upper parts and upper wings are a pearly grey/white and the neck, underparts and underwings are white. The call is a high pitched 'siet'.
Breeding takes place between October and January in large colonies on rocky cliffs and offshore islands. The nest is a shallow, unlined hollow, in which one egg is normally laid, though clutches can number as many as three eggs. Both adults incubate for around 24 days and brood the chick (normally only one is raised) for a few days after hatching. The chick fledges at around 29-35 days and continues to be fed by its parents for about three months after fledging.
White fronted terns feed in large flocks on small fish by plunge diving. Shoals of smelt and pilchards which have been driven to the surface by larger fish are easily caught by the terns.
On Tiritiri Matangi they are most often seen on and around the wharf, though they have bred regularly on the eastern side of the Island. Like many terns, they change their breeding sites from time to time.
Learn more about white-fronted terns at New Zealand Birds On-line.
Photography by: Dr Kerry Rodgers © (white fronted tern with fledgling - right) and by Simon Fordham © (left)
References: Heather, B.D.; Robertson, H.A. 2000 The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand. Auckland, Viking.