Fairy Tern

The name Fairy Tern can also refer to the White Tern (Gygis alba)

Fairy Tern
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Sternidae
Genus:	Sterna
Species:	S. nereis
Binomial name
Sterna nereis (Gould, 1843)
subspecies
Sterna nereis davisae Sterna nereis exsul Sterna nereis nereis

The Fairy Tern (Sterna nereis) is a small tern which occurs in the southwestern Pacific.

There are three subspecies:

• Australian Fairy Tern, Sterna nereis nereis - breeds in Australia
• New Caledonian Fairy Tern, Sterna nereis exsul - breeds in New Caledonia
• New Zealand Fairy Tern, Sterna nereis davisae - breeds in northern New Zealand

Formerly classified as a Species of Least Concern by the IUCN, recent research shows that its numbers have been decreasing rapidly throughout its range; the New Zealand subspecies has been on the brink of extinction for decades. The Fairy Tern was consequently uplisted to Vulnerable status in 2008. The New Zealand Fairy Tern has numerous breeding areas, largely incorporating the upper-north region of the North Island. To date, there are only 42 known individuals left. With a breeding program in place by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, the population has gradually increased to the current number.

References

• IUCN (2010). "Sterna nereis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/144258. Retrieved 15 August 2011. 
• BirdLife International (BLI) (2008): [2008 IUCN Redlist status changes]. Retrieved 2008-MAY-23.
• Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine, Last Chance to See (Ballantine Books, 1992, ISBN 0345371984)

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet