Lord Howe Island: White aka Fairy Terns
I’ve seen these tropical birds before in the Indian and Pacific Ocean – white aka fairy terns. They are very distinct from other terns with their snow-white plumage that sometimes gets them nicknamed “angel birds”. Unlike other terns that nest on the ground, these guys lay a single egg on a Y-shaped branch of a tree near the beach. They don’t fly further then 40-50km from shore and were used by Polynesian sailors as a sign of near land and islands. They probably have the cutest furry little chicks of all terns. Also, unlike most other terns and seabirds, white terns don’t regurgitate fish to feed their young, but rather bring a mouthful of whole little fishes held together by their thorny tongues and feed them whole to the young ones (yes, just like puffins in the arctic).
