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The First Australian Breeding Record of the White-Fronted Tern* by J

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The First Australian Breeding Record of the White-Fronted Tern* by J VOL. 8 (5) MARCH, 1980 137 The First Australian Breeding Record of the White-fronted Tern* By J. S. WHINRAY, Flinders Island, Tasmania, 7255. Early in 1979 I found some White-fronted Terns Sterna striata Gmelin breeding in Tasmania on Battery Island in the Furneaux Group. Pre·­ viously the species was known to breed only in New Zealand (Hindwood, 1946; Falla, et al., 1966; Serventy, et al., 1971 ; Frith, 1977). Hindwood (1946) brought together most of the prior records of this species for the Australian region and, with few exceptions, these fell within the period of May to November. Hitchcock & Favaloro (1951) considered it "more than likely" that some of Hindwood's late Sydney records, particularly the January "stragglers", were referable to the Com­ mon Tern Sterna hirundo longipennis. The subsequent Australian records of the White-fronted Tern also fell within the May to November period (the sources include Hitchcock & Favaloro, 1951; Clark & Dawson, 1957; Lawrence, 1959; and Kinsky, 1963). The New Zealand breeding season starts in October (Oliver, 1955; Falla, et al., 1966). So the period of the species' absence from the Aus­ tralian region coincided with much of the New Zealand breeding season. The first six Australian recoveries of birds banded in New Zealand were made in 1955 in New South Wales. Six sightings of banded birds were made the next year in the same state. These records were " the first definite evidence to support the theory that White-fronted Terns winter­ ing on the coast of New South Wales and Victoria are birds of New Zealand origin" (Clarke & Dawson, 1957). Six more Australian recoveries of banded birds were made in 1959 in Victoria and New South Wales (Kinsky, 1960). Two more recoveries were made in New South Wales in 1962 (Kinsky, 1963), and a single recovery in 1963 in the same state (Robertson, 1964). These records increased the evidence for the New Zealand origin of the White-fronted Terns recorded in the Australian region. Battery Island The Furneaux Group is in south-eastern Bass Strait and Battery Island is one of its smallest islets. It is a granite islet of about 0.3 of a hectare. Except for the small northern sandbeach, the shore is rocky. The dominant vegetation is hassocks of Prickly Speargrass Stipa tere­ tifolia. The islet has been described in some detail, and a bird list given for May and June 1976 (Whinray, 1978). The Early 1979 Visits On January 8, I landed on the islet, finding a small rookery by the summit of the rocky south-eastern point. Part of this area was vegetated, the cover being a succulent mat with a few emergent Prickly Speargrass hassocks. The birds, which had nested in the vegetated area, were Silver Gulls Larus novaehollandiae, Fairy Terns Sterna nereis and White­ fronted Terns. Each species used a separate but adjacent nesting area. * Preliminary notice of this record was given in the Bird Observers' Association of Tasmania Bimonthly Newsletter, May, 1979 (no page numbering). AUSTRALIAN 138 WHINRAY BIRD WATCHER About fifteen White-fronted Terns in breeding plumage were present but, as I had no telephoto lens, they could not be photographed. There were three nests: one had two eggs, the others had one egg each. The nests were very simple, just shallow depressions in the succulent mat (see Plate 44. There are three seashell fragments in the nest). In the rookery, but away from the nests, were three chicks of this species. One of them rose and then returned to the rookery. When I left the rookery, adult White-fronted Terns settled on the nest with two eggs and on one of the others. No bird settled on the third nest during the whole visit, which lasted about an hour. A minimum of four pairs, and a maximum of six, could have been responsible for the eggs and chicks seen during the visit. The number of adults - about fifteen - fits the larger figure reasonably well. The second visit was made with a large National Parks and Wildlife Service party on January 23. At the rookery there were three White­ fronted Terns in breeding plumage and four chicks. Two of the latter could fly and one of them flew to a south-west rock. The breeding birds attacked whenever we came too close to the chicks. An adult was seen diving into water about twelve metres deep and then feeding the smallest chick with a small fish. All the film which I took with a borrowed camera and telephoto lens was exposed out of focus. It was the first time I had used such a lens and the presence of so large a party made me anxious to photograph the birds quickly as I was unsure if they would remain at the rookery during the visit. My third visit was made on February 5 in order to take good photo­ graphs. Two black and white films and one colour film were taken successfully during this visit. T here were two White-fronted Tern chicks at the rookery. Both were away from the nests but unable to fly. Two pairs of adult White-fronted Terns were present and each pair seemed to be responsible for a chick. The adults attacked whenever I moved too close to the chicks. They did this by flying at head height, usually towards my face, and then turning aside when just out of arm's reach. Buller noted this mode of attack (Turbott, 1967). On the rocks just south-west of the islet were four White-fronted Terns. One was a mottled, adult-sized immature bird; the others were adults that had the fronts of their crowns mottled. One of these adults landed on the islet later and was photographed. Breeding Birds T hese were about half as long again as the breeding Fairy Terns. So their length from bill tip to tail tip was about 38 centimetres. The bills were slender and black. The crowns were a deep black which extended down the front past the eyes, giving way to white on the fore­ heads. On the sides, the black finished just below the eyes, and the white of the cheeks began there. The change from black to white was abrupt at both places. When the seated birds were seen from behind, the black of the crowns could be seen to continue to the bases of the napes. The throats and sides of the necks were white (for these details see Plates 45, 47 and 48 but note that they were taken in February when two of the breeding birds had white spots in the fronts of their crowns). My photographs do not show as wide a white forehead as was painted VOL. 8 (5) MARCH, 1980 White-fronted Terns 139 White-fronted Tern's nest, Battery Island. The pen is 150mm long. Pla te 44 P hoto by J ohn W h inray White-fronted Tern with chick, Battery Island. Pla te 45 Photo by John W hinray AU:SlKALlAN 140 WHINRAY BIRD WATCHER by Slater (1970) but they do show the same width of forehead as in the photographs in Serventy, et al. (1971), and Frith (1977). I conclude that Slater's plate could be defective in this detail. When the birds were on the wing, the tails were seen to be long, forked and pale grey on top. The undersides of the tails were white. The main colour of the tops of the wings was pale grey and along their hind edges was a narrow white band. A narrow black edge could be seen on each outermost primary feather as the birds flew about. In repose it was seen to be midway between the shoulder and the wingtip and to occupy about one sixth of the wing edge. The outer primaries were noticed as a darker colour than the backs when the birds were at rest. The undersides of the wings were white. During the first visit the tails were recorded as projecting "just beyond the folded wings". On the third visit I checked the four breeding birds. One had a tail about 2.5 centimetres longer than the folded wings, two had wings and tails of more or less the same length and the fourth had wings about one centimetre longer than the tail. For some of the birds it was very difficult to distinguish their wingtips from their tail tips. The bellies and breasts were white. The legs were recorded as dusky­ red on the second visit, and as "reddish" on the third visit. The only colour change in the plumage of the breeding birds was noticed on the third visit. Two birds had a white spot in the black of their crowns between their eyes (this can be seen in one of the birds in plates 47 and 48) I take this change to be the first step in the reversion to eclipse plumage. Birds Mottled on the Fronts of their Crowns These birds were noticed only on the third visit. The difference between them and the birds in full breeding plumage was in their crowns. Not just the foreheads were white but also the fronts of their crowns to be­ tween their eyes. There the white gave way to a small area mottled black and white. The rest of each crown was black. The black of the crowns extended below the mottled area, reaching and surrounding the eyes (see Plate 48). This colour distribution fits the plate in Slater (1970) , except for two details. I did not note a small black area in front of the eyes and recorded black below them.
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