Tarapiroe chick - Black-fronted Tern – Chlidonias albostriatus
This chick was old enough to be mobile and was a short distance from the main colony across a channel of water from its colony mates.
I was concerned about this until some local youngsters with a dog approached the river at this point to go swimming. The chick , with its parents circling overhead, promptly popped into the water ands swam like a bobbing unsinkable cork across the rill back to the comparative safety of the main colony.
Endemic to New Zealand this is a small tern generally found in or near bodies of fresh water in New Zealand and forages for freshwater fish, arthropods and worms. It has a predominantly grey plumage. Restricted to breeding in the eastern regions of South Island, it is declining and threatened by introduced mammals and birds. Measuring 29 cm (12 in) in length, the adult tern has predominantly grey plumage with a black cap typical of many terns. The underparts and rump are white, and there is a thin white streak running along the cheeks underneath the cap. The bill is red and legs orange. The black cap recedes from the bill in non-breeding plumage and becomes flecked with white.
Within New Zealand, the Black-fronted Tern is found from the southern tip of the North Island, and along much of the eastern South Island from Marlborough to Southland, and to Stewart Island. There is an outlying population along the Buller and upper Motueka Rivers in southern Nelson. The breeding range is restricted to South Island only. It lives along riverbanks and can forage out to 10 km at sea in the nonbreeding season.
Numbers of Black-fronted Terns are decreasing across its range, and the species is classified as endangered. Threats include several species introduced to New Zealand - stoats, feral cats, the brown rat, hedgehog, dog, possum and Australian Magpie.
Tarapiroe chick - Black-fronted Tern – Chlidonias albostriatus
This chick was old enough to be mobile and was a short distance from the main colony across a channel of water from its colony mates.
I was concerned about this until some local youngsters with a dog approached the river at this point to go swimming. The chick , with its parents circling overhead, promptly popped into the water ands swam like a bobbing unsinkable cork across the rill back to the comparative safety of the main colony.
Endemic to New Zealand this is a small tern generally found in or near bodies of fresh water in New Zealand and forages for freshwater fish, arthropods and worms. It has a predominantly grey plumage. Restricted to breeding in the eastern regions of South Island, it is declining and threatened by introduced mammals and birds. Measuring 29 cm (12 in) in length, the adult tern has predominantly grey plumage with a black cap typical of many terns. The underparts and rump are white, and there is a thin white streak running along the cheeks underneath the cap. The bill is red and legs orange. The black cap recedes from the bill in non-breeding plumage and becomes flecked with white.
Within New Zealand, the Black-fronted Tern is found from the southern tip of the North Island, and along much of the eastern South Island from Marlborough to Southland, and to Stewart Island. There is an outlying population along the Buller and upper Motueka Rivers in southern Nelson. The breeding range is restricted to South Island only. It lives along riverbanks and can forage out to 10 km at sea in the nonbreeding season.
Numbers of Black-fronted Terns are decreasing across its range, and the species is classified as endangered. Threats include several species introduced to New Zealand - stoats, feral cats, the brown rat, hedgehog, dog, possum and Australian Magpie.