Story: Gulls, terns and skuas

Sooty tern with egg

Sooty tern with egg

Within New Zealand, sooty terns nest on the Kermadec Islands, the largest colony of 10,000 pairs being on Macauley Island. Their high-pitched call sounds like the word ‘wideawake’, giving them their alternative name; they also warn intruders off with a deep growl. They feed further out to sea than other terns, and are rarely seen on land once breeding is over.

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Department of Conservation
Reference: 10037274
Photograph by Don Merton

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How to cite this page:

Gerard Hutching, 'Gulls, terns and skuas - White-fronted, sooty, Antarctic and Arctic terns', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/8926/sooty-tern-with-egg (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 12 Jun 2006, reviewed & revised 17 Feb 2015