Fairy Tern
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Fairy Tern | ||||||||||||||
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Conservation status | ||||||||||||||
Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
Sterna nereis (Gould, 1843) |
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subspecies | ||||||||||||||
Sterna nereis davisae |
The Fairy Tern (Sterna nereis) is a small tern which occurs in the southwestern Pacific.
There are three subspecies:
- Australian Fairy Tern, Sterna nereis nereis - breeds in Australia
- New Caledonian Fairy Tern, Sterna nereis exsul - breeds in New Caledonia
- New Zealand Fairy Tern, Sterna nereis davisae - breeds in northern New Zealand
Formerly classified as a Species of Least Concern by the IUCN[1], recent research shows that its numbers are decreasing rapidly throughout its range; the New Zealand subspecies is on the brink of extinction since decades. The Fairy Tern is consequently uplisted to Vulnerable status in 2008[2].
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (BLI) (2004). Sterna nereis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 23 May 2008.
- BirdLife International (BLI) (2008): [2008 IUCN Redlist status changes]. Retrieved 2008-MAY-23.