Sterna striata
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
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 |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a White-fronted Tern sighting in Rakiura National Park on a given day, based on 1,218 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 11th most-seen of the 80 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and October–November
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a White-fronted Tern in Rakiura National Park on a given day, against about 20% in May, the lowest month.
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.
Yes
Of the 6 parks where we can rate White-fronted Tern sightings, Rakiura National Park has the highest daily chance: about 60%. Next come Fiordland National Park (New Zealand, about 10%) and Abel Tasman National Park (New Zealand, about 10%).
Same family: Laridae
The closest relatives of the White-fronted Tern that you can see in Rakiura National Park (family Laridae, Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers) are Silver Gull (about 80%), Dominican Gull (about 70%) and Black-fronted Tern (about 10%), 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 Rakiura National Park (1,218 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.
