Table of Contents
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Overview
Distribution
Range Description
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National Distribution
United States
Origin: Native
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
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Global Range: (>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)) BREEDS: [CANDIDA group]: islands in tropical Pacific Ocean, from Caroline and Marshall islands and Hawaiian islands (northwestern islands, Oahu) south to Norfolk Island, Kermadec Islands, Tonga, Society Islands, and Marquesas (Hatutu); Clipperton Island off western Mexico and Cocos Island off Costa Rica south to Galapagos, Easter, and Sala-y-Gomez islands; Seychelles; [ALBA group]: islands in South Atlantic Ocean; [MICRORHYNCHA group]: islands in tropical Pacific Ocean in Line, Phoenix, and Marquesas (Eiao to Fatu Hiva) islands (Sibley and Monroe 1990). WINTERS: at sea generally near breeding area (AOU 1983, Pratt et al. 1987).
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Physical Description
Size
Ecology
Habitat
Habitat and Ecology
Systems
- Terrestrial
- Marine
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Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 14 samples.
Environmental ranges
Depth range (m): 0 - 0
Temperature range (°C): 24.062 - 27.540
Nitrate (umol/L): 0.037 - 6.071
Salinity (PPS): 34.960 - 36.446
Oxygen (ml/l): 4.641 - 4.865
Phosphate (umol/l): 0.153 - 0.600
Silicate (umol/l): 1.156 - 3.590
Graphical representation
Temperature range (°C): 24.062 - 27.540
Nitrate (umol/L): 0.037 - 6.071
Salinity (PPS): 34.960 - 36.446
Oxygen (ml/l): 4.641 - 4.865
Phosphate (umol/l): 0.153 - 0.600
Silicate (umol/l): 1.156 - 3.590
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.
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Comments: Primarily pelagic (AOU 1983); feeds at sea usually fairly close to nesting islands but sometimes at great distances (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Roosts in trees or in low vegetation on atolls. Nests and roosts on islands in trees (where available) or in low vegetation on atolls; may nest where there is human activity nearby (Pratt et al. 1987). Nests on bare limb or tree crotch; on ledge, coral, structure, or abandoned noddy nest in some areas.
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Migration
Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.
Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).
Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.
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Trophic Strategy
Comments: Catches fishes at or near surface of water; does not plunge into water. May forage while carrying several previously caught fishes in bill.
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General Ecology
Life History and Behavior
Life Expectancy
Lifespan, longevity, and ageing
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Reproduction
Extended nesting season, mostly spring-summer in Hawaii, March to August or September on Cocos Island, Costa Rica (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Clutch size is 1. Incubation, by both sexes, lasts 5 weeks. Young fledges at 6-7 weeks, then dependent for about 3-4 months. Lays replacement egg if egg or young is lost (Berger 1981).
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Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Statistics of barcoding coverage: Gygis alba
Public Records: 6
Species: 8
Species With Barcodes: 1
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Conservation
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
Red List Criteria
Version
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Contributor/s
Justification
History
- 2008Least Concern
- 2004Least Concern
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National NatureServe Conservation Status
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked
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NatureServe Conservation Status
Rounded Global Status Rank: G4 - Apparently Secure
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Threats
Comments: On Guam, the breeding population essentially has been eliminated by the introduced brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis, except on snake-free Cocos Island (Reichel 1991).
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Wikipedia
White Tern
The White Tern (Gygis alba) is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. It is sometimes known as the Fairy Tern although this name is potentially confusing as it is the common name of the Fairy Tern Sternula nereis. Other names for the species include Angel Tern and White Noddy.
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Subspecies
The White Tern has 3-4 subspecies: the nominate race G. a. alba, G. a. leucopes, the Pacific White Tern (G. a. candida). Additionally, the Little White Tern (G. microrhyncha) was long and often is still included herein as a subspecies G. a. microrhyncha.[1]
Description
The White Tern is a small, all white tern with a long black bill, related to the noddies.[2] It ranges widely across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and also nests in some Atlantic islands. It nests on coral islands, usually on trees with thin branches but also on rocky ledges and on man-made structures. The White Tern feeds on small fish which it catches by plunge diving.
Behaviour
This small tern is famous for laying its egg on bare thin branches in a small fork or depression without a nest. This behaviour is unusual for terns, which generally nest on the ground, and even the related tree-nesting Black Noddy constructs a nest. It is thought that the reason for the absence of nests is the reduction in nest parasites, which in some colonial seabirds can cause the abandonment of an entire colony.[3] In spite of these benefits there are costs associated with tree nesting, as the eggs and chicks are vulnerable to becoming dislodged by heavy winds. For this reason the White Tern is also quick to relay should it lose the egg. The newly hatched chicks have well developed feet with which to hang on to their precarious nesting site. It is a long-lived bird, having been recorded living for 17 years.
Relationship with humans
The White Tern is not considered threatened as it is a widespread species with several large colonies around the world.
The White Tern, manu-o-Kū, was named Honolulu, Hawaiʻi's official bird on April 2, 2007.[2]
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2004). Gygis alba. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern.
- ^ Niethammer, K. R., and L. B. Patrick-Castilaw. 1998. White Tern (Gygis alba). in The Birds of North America, No. 371 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. doi:10.2173/bna.371
- ^ Houston, D.C. (1978) "Why do fairy terns Gygis alba not build nests?" Ibis 121 (1): 102 - 104 doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1979.tb05023.x
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Names and Taxonomy
Taxonomy
Comments: alba group of the Marquesas Islands and South Atlantic and candida group of the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans may represent two species according to some authors (see AOU 1983). Two species, G. alba and G. microrhyncha, tentatively were recognized in the tropical Pacific by Pratt et al. (1987). Also known as Common White-Tern, White Noddy, or Fairy Tern (AOU 2000, 1998).
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