White-fronted tern

Commonly seen wheeling over fish boil-ups around the island.

Story

This is the commonest tern on New Zealand coasts, sometimes in flocks of thousands, but numbers have fallen sharply over 40 years. Introduced predators and disturbance at breeding colonies are the main threats.

Behaviour

Tara dive from 5–10 m onto small fish driven to the surface by kahawai. Fishers follow the flocks, which is why they're called 'kahawai birds'. They nest in dense colonies on shingle and sand dunes.