Terns (Charadriiformes)

Black Fronted Tern (Sterna albostriata)

Confined to New Zealand, the black-fronted tern breeds in the South Island. It may once have bred in the North Island but there have been no reports in the last 50 years. Mainly a bird of inland rivers and lakes in summer, sometimes foraging over ploughed fields or flooded meadows, but in winter it's main habitat is estuaries and river mouths where flocks roost on sand banks and mud flats.