Fairy Tern
Sternula nereis
The Fairy Tern (Sternula nereis) is a rare skimmers, noddies, terns, and gull found in 3 countries, weighing about 72 g. The fairy tern is a small tern which is native to the southwestern Pacific.
About the Fairy Tern
The fairy tern is a small tern which is native to the southwestern Pacific. It is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN and the New Zealand subspecies is critically endangered. Fairy terns live in colonies along the coastlines and estuaries of Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia, feeding largely on small, epipelagic schooling fishes, breeding in areas close to their feeding sites. They have a monogamous mating system, forming breeding pairs in which they mate, nest, and care for offspring.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
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).
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in January. It is a summer visitor species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Fairy Tern?
- The fairy tern is a small tern with a white body and light bluish-grey wings. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Fairy Tern?
- The Fairy Tern is a medium sized bird weighing about 72 g.
- Where can you see a Fairy Tern?
- The Fairy Tern occurs in 3 countries, including Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.
- What birds look similar to a Fairy Tern?
- The Fairy Tern is most easily confused with the Peruvian Tern, the Damara Tern and the Saunders's Tern.
- Is the Fairy Tern endangered?
- The Fairy Tern is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Fairy Tern for real
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