White-fronted Tern

Sterna striata - Sterne tara

Sterne tara
Systematics
  • Order 
    :

    Charadriiformes

  • Family
    :

    Laridés

  • Genus
    :

    Sterna

  • Species
    :

    striata

Descriptor

Gmelin, JF, 1789

Biometrics
  • Size
    : 42 cm
  • Wingspan
    : -
  • Weight
    : -
Longevity

20 years

Geographic range

Distribution

Identification

Sterne tara
adult plum. breeding
Sterne tara
juvenile

Similar to the Common Tern (Sterna hirundo). It is distinguished by the completely white lower forehead, black beak and legs, overall paler hue and white underside of the wings. For adults in non-breeding plumage and for juveniles, only the paler hue is truly different.

Subspecific information monotypic species

Foreign names

  • Sterne tara,
  • Charrán maorí,
  • gaivina-de-testa-branca,
  • Weißstirn-Seeschwalbe,
  • fehérmellű csér,
  • Tarastern,
  • Sterna frontebianca,
  • vitpannad tärna,
  • Nyzealandterne,
  • rybár bieločelý,
  • rybák běločelý,
  • Hvidpandet Terne,
  • mustanokkatiira,
  • xatrac de front blanc,
  • rybitwa maoryska,
  • Белолобая крачка,
  • シロビタイアジサシ,
  • 澳洲燕鸥,
  • vitpannad tärna,
  • 白臉燕鷗,

Voice song and call

Sterne tara
adult

A high-pitched siiit!

Habitat

Sterne tara
adult

The White-fronted Tern has a very limited range: the New Zealand coastal region where it is common (nominal subspecies) as well as the Chatham and Auckland Islands (aucklandorna subspecies) and two isolated islands between Tasmania and Australia (incerta subspecies). The White-fronted Tern is mainly a coastal species but can be observed fishing in the sea several kilometres away from the coast. It is exceptional to find it on inland waters.

Behaviour character trait

Sterne tara
adult

Very gregarious, both when fishing and during the breeding season. Most of the juveniles and a portion of the adult New Zealanders winter in the southeast coast of Australia and around Tasmania. Fearless.

Dietfeeding habits

Sterne tara
adult

The White-fronted Tern almost exclusively feeds on fishes, but it also catches shrimp. It can dive up to ten meters deep often following a brief hovering flight, but it can also capture its preys on the surface of the water while flying.

Reproduction nesting

Sterne tara
adult plum. breeding

The White-fronted Tern reproduces between October and February, often in colonies of hundreds of pairs.

Sterne tara
These colonies can be installed on beaches or rocky islets. I have even seen a colony next to a parking lot near a busy road! In the sand, the nest is often a simple bowl, but on the rocks it can be a real cup made of aquatic vegetation. 1 or 2 eggs are laid. Incubation likely takes more than 3 weeks and the young leave the nest after 5 or 6 days, but do not fly until they are about 1 month old. They then depend on their parents for several months.

Geographic range

Distribution

Threats - protection

Sterne tara
Second
IUCN conservation status
Extinct
Threatened
Least
concern
Extinc
in the Wild
Near
threatened
Not
evaluated
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC NE

There are estimated to be around 500 000 pairs (over 1.5 million individuals including non-breeders, as the species does not breed until its second year) of the non-threatened White-fronted Tern population in New Zealand.

Sources of information

Other sources of interest

QRcode Sterne taraSpecification sheet created on 01/08/2023 by
Translation by AI Oiseaux.net
© 1996-2025 Oiseaux.net