White Tern - Definition and Overview

The White Tern, Gygis alba is a beautiful small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. Often known as the Fairy Tern, this small tern is famous for laying its egg on bare thin branches in a small fork or depression without a nest. This balancing act is a predator-avoidance behaviour as the branches they choose are too small for rats or even small lizards to climb. Safe from predators, but still vunerable from strong winds, the White Terns are also quick to relay should they lose the egg. The newly hatched chicks have well developed feet to hang on to their precarious nesting site with. It is a long-lived bird, having been recorded living for 17 years.

The White Tern is a small all white tern with a long black bill, related to the noddies. It ranches widely across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and also nests in some Atlantic islands. It nests on coral islands, usually on trees with thin branches but also on rocky ledges and on man-made structures. The White Tern feeds on small fish which it catches by plunge diving.

The White Tern is not considered threatened as it is a wide-spread species with several large colonies around the world.

Reference

Niethammer, K. R., and L. B. Patrick-Castilaw. 1998. White Tern (Gygis alba). In The Birds of North America, No. 371 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.