Little tern

Latin Sternula albifrons
Estonian Väiketiir

Also known as: black-lored tern, sea swallow, white-shafted ternlet

Status in Estonia
Breeding and migratory bird.

Description
This bird is a tiny tern with narrow wings and a very low tail fork. In the summer, the adult bird has a white forehead and a black lore, a yellow beak with a small black tip, orange-yellow legs and 2–3 grey-black outer primary wing feathers. In the winter, the lore turns white, while the front of the crown grows lighter. The beak of a juvenile bird is dark, the back and shoulders have a dark scale pattern and a faint dark line on the secondary flight feathers.

Size
Body length 21–25 cm, wingspan 41–47 cm, body mass 47–63 g.

Similar species
Common tern, Arctic tern.

Distribution
A total of seven separate breeding populations are identified in five subspecies across a large range in Eurasia and Australia’s temperate and tropical zones. Africa also has some small and scattered populations. The nominate subspecies S. a. albifron occurs in most European countries. Using the southwest migratory path, the smaller Western European population winters on the ocean coast of West Africa, while the larger eastern population migrates south around Cape Guardafui and into East Africa. The little tern is a rare breeder in Estonia.

Population
Estonia has 150–250 breeding pairs.

Occurrence in Estonia
The first birds are regularly seen at the end of April and the major migration continues until the end of May. The departure begins at the end of June and continues until the beginning of September.

Diet
Small fish are on their dinner table. It also catches insects and crustaceans.

Habitat
It breeds on sandy or shingle islets and the coast and in agricultural areas. Since the nest site is near a protected feeding area, the nester population is low. Nesting occurs in bigger numbers under favourable conditions, such as when open dunes are next to a better wetland.

Nesting
Unlike other terns, they do not usually nest in colonies but rather in scattered flocks of 2–4 pairs or single pairs. During the courtship ritual, the male bird brings fish to the female bird. In May, the female lays 1–3 eggs in a hollow on the ground or between stones, which are incubated by both adult birds for 17–25 days. After hatching, the young are extremely mobile and leave the nest almost immediately. Both adult birds take care of the young. Chicks can fly after 17–19 days and parents continue to feed them for a while.

Conservation status and protection
It belongs to the protected species of category III. The main threat is the overgrowth of nesting sites as a result of eutrophication.

Distribution and population in Lääne County.
The little tern is an uncommon breeding and migratory bird in Lääne County. They breed in single pairs or in colonies consisting of a few pairs on sandy and shingle beaches and on small sea islands.
Little terns can be seen in Matsalu from mid-April to the end of June. The most likely places to see these birds are from the Haeska birdwatching tower or Cape Puise.