Fairy Tern

Sternula nereis Gould, 1843

25 cmLength72 gWeight

The fairy tern (Sternula nereis) is a small tern which is native to the southwestern Pacific.

Busiest months: January · Most records: Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia

Vulnerable

Where and when it's recorded

Fairy Tern has been recorded at 34 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 3 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Western Treatment PlantAustralia2,529 records
Waipu Wildlife RefugeNew Zealand532 records
Alfred Cove Nature ReserveAustralia480 records

More places

Lake WollumboolaAustralia245 records
RhyllAustralia94 records
Rhyll InletAustralia77 records
Western Treatment Plant – Western LagoonsAustralia76 records
Ricketts PointAustralia73 records
Western Treatment Plant – T Section PondsAustralia73 records
Western Treatment Plant – Lake BorrieAustralia70 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Australia New Zealand New Caledonia

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The fairy tern (Sternula nereis) 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.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Fairy Tern?

The Fairy Tern is about 25 cm long and weighs around 72 g.

Where does the Fairy Tern live?

Its breeding range: Australasia: western to southeastern Australia, northern North Island (New Zealand) and New Caledonia. It is most often recorded in Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.