One of the 6 terns on WAnimals
Birds · Charadriiformes · Laridae
Atlantic White Tern
Gygis alba
Least Concern
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
The white tern, or fairy tern, is an entirely white seabird with a blue-black bill and huge eyes ringed in dark that give it an unmistakable expression. It lives on tropical islands throughout the oceans and has one of the most reckless nesting strategies in the animal kingdom: it builds no nest and balances its single egg on a bare branch, a fork or a ledge.
Weight
90 g – 140 g
Size
25 cm – 30 cm
Life expectancy
18 years
