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White Tern

Gygis albaOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)

White Tern Portrait
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General

White Tern: Medium-sized tern. Snow white overall, dark eyes and black eyerings make it appear to have large eyes. Notched tail. Wings and tail may appear translucent when overhead. Bill is black with dark blue base. Sexes are similar. Juveniles resemble adult, may show black spot behind eye and feathers on upperparts are tinged with brown. Base of bill is black. Also called a Common Fairy-tern. Swerving and erratic fluttering flight.

Range and Habitat

White Tern: Found along the southern coast of Oahu and in city parks where they can become quite tame. Nests and roosts in trees of dense forests or low vegetation.

Voice Text

"eenk-eenk-eenk" or "grrich-grrich-grrich"

Interesting Facts

  • A group of terns are collectively known as a "ternery" or a "U" of terns.
  • The White Tern was first described in 1786 by Anders Erikson Sparrman, a Swedish naturalist.
  • It is also known as the Common Fairy-Tern and White Noddy.
  • It often lays its egg in the fork of a tree with no nest to support it.


Author

Crystal Adams

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Range Map for White Tern
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Gygis alba
Length11 - 13 Inches
Wingspan Inches

White Tern

White Tern: Medium-sized tern, also called Common Fairy-tern, snow white overall, dark eyes and black eyerings make it appear to have large eyes. Notched tail. Wings and tail may appear translucent when overhead. Bill is black with dark blue base, legs and feet are blue-gray.

● Song: "eenk-eenk-eenk" or "grrich-grrich-grrich"

● Foraging & Feeding: White Tern: Feeds mostly on goatfish and flying fish, sometimes takes squid. Forages by snatching fish from surface of water and air-dipping, catching fish in midair as they leap out of the water to avoid larger fish.

● Breeding & nesting: White Tern: One off-white egg, heavily marked with gray, brown, and black streaks, is laid in a shallow depression of a tree branch or ledge. Egg is incubated by both adults for 33 to 41 days. Chick fledges around 48 to 53 days after hatching.

● Similar species: White Tern: Blue Noddy is very light gray, and may appear white in bright sunlight.

Flight Pattern

Swerves, swoops, and soars.
White Tern Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: White Tern: Found along the southern coast of Oahu and in city parks where they can become quite tame. Nests and roosts in trees of dense forests or low vegetation.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationCommon in range
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight4.1 Ounces