Sterna striata
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The white-fronted tern (Sterna striata), also known as tara, sea swallow, black-billed tern, kahawai bird, southern tern, or swallow tail, was first described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. A medium-sized tern with an all-white body including underwing and forked tail, with pale grey hues on the mantle and upper side of the wing. In breeding adults a striking black cap covers the head from forehead to nape, leaving a small white strip above the black bill.
This is the most abundant tern in New Zealand. It can be observed feeding on shoaling fish along the entire coastline and many of the smaller outlying islands. Breeding occurs from October to January on rocky cliffs, offshore islands and along the coast where pairs will nest on shingle, sand, shell or rock. Flocks may contain hundreds of breeding pairs that will nest in close proximity to one another. Large numbers of juveniles and some adults migrate to the south-east coast of Australia and parts of Tasmania in the autumn, with small numbers establishing breeding colonies on Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in the Bass Strait.
Due to mammalian predators introduced to New Zealand, such as ferrets and stoats, the white-fronted tern has recently been given the New Zealand national conservation status of at risk/in decline. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 4 | Freycinet National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Egmont National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 6 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-fronted Tern sighting in Fiordland National Park on a given day, based on 394 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 94 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a White-fronted Tern in Fiordland National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–September and November, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-fronted Tern sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate White-fronted Tern sightings, Fiordland National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Rakiura National Park (New Zealand, about 60%).
Same family: Laridae
The closest relatives of the White-fronted Tern that you can see in Fiordland National Park (family Laridae, Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers) are Dominican Gull (about 60%), Black-billed Gull (about 40%) and Black-fronted Tern (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-fronted Tern is recorded against all the birds logged in Fiordland National Park (394 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
