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Kōrero: Gulls, terns and skuas

White-fronted tern

Image
White-fronted tern

White-fronted terns usually scoop surface-shoaling fish such as pilchards from the water without alighting. This requires a lot of skill, and parents feed young birds for several months so they have time to perfect the art. Males court females by delivering a fish held crosswise in their bill, as if to show off their prowess.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Department of Conservation

Reference: 10031281

by Dave Crouchley

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Gerard Hutching, Gulls, terns and skuas – White-fronted, sooty, Antarctic and Arctic terns, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/6135/white-fronted-tern (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Gerard Hutching, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009.