page_title: White-fronted tern
section_title: Diet and foraging
hierarchical_section_title: White-fronted tern / Diet and predators / Diet and foraging
caption_attribution_description: Port Fairy Pelagic. Victoria.
context_page_description: The white-fronted tern also known as Tara, Sea Swallow, Black-billed Tern, Kahawai Bird, Southern Tern, or Swallow tail, was first described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. A medium sized tern that has an all white body including under wing and forked tail, with grey hues that flow over the upper wing. In breeding adults a striking black cap covers the head from forehead to nape, leaving a small white strip across the top of the black beak.
  They are the most abundant tern in New Zealand, observed feeding on shoaling fish along the entire coastline and many of its smaller outlying islands. Breeding occurs October to January on rocky cliffs, offshore islands and along the coast where they will nest on shingle, sand, shell or rock. Flocks can have hundreds of breeding pairs that will nest in close proximity to one another. Large numbers of juveniles and some adults migrate to the south-east coast of Australia and parts of Tasmania in the Autumn, with small numbers establishing breeding colonies on Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in the Bass Strait.
context_section_description: White-fronted terns are carnivorous, fishing mainly in coastal waters. However, on the odd occasion they will head inland a few kilometres, following rivers and creeks to find food.  Their diet is predominantly smaller fish such as smelt and pilchards while also including larval fish.  Their preference when feeding at sea is for shoaling fish, that are being forced to the surface in large groups by kahawai and kingfish. When feeding, they will dive from 3 to 10 m above the surface into the shoal of fish, just entering the water in a very shallow dive. They can feed like this off the coast in huge flocks that are made up of hundreds to thousands of birds. They will feed alongside other birds such as gannets, shearwaters and gulls. When diving for fish, they are highly efficient. Their forked tails and adept flying skills allow for great movement above the water surface.
caption: Flock of white-fronted terns foraging at sea
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