The Chinese Crested Tern (Sterna bernsteini) is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae, closely related to Sandwich TernS. sandvicensis and Lesser Crested TernS. bengalensis. It is most similar to the former, differing only in the bill pattern, which is the reverse of the Sandwich Tern's, being yellow with a black tip. From Lesser Crested Tern, which it overlaps in wintering distribution, it can be told by the white rump and paler grey mantle, as well as the black tip to the bill. The larger Greater Crested Tern is also similar, differing in the stouter, all-yellow bill and darker grey mantle and rump, as well as in size.
It is a critically endangered species, previously thought extinct, with a known population of only four pairs rediscovered in 2000, nesting in a Greater Crested Tern colony on an islet in the Matsu Islands, just off the coast of China, and wintering south to the Philippines. In the past, it had a wider distribution off the Chinese east coast north to Shandong Province. The decline is thought to be due to past hunting and egg collection for food. Past protection of this colony may be because of the islands' disputed status, administered by Taiwan but claimed by Mainland China, the military sensitivity of the area restricting access. The islet has now been declared a wildlife sanctuary. It is possible that other small colonies may yet be found off the Chinese and Taiwanese coasts, with a speculated world population in the region of 100 birds.
External links
Oriental Bird Club _ rediscovery of Chinese Crested Tern (with photo) (http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications/features/chincres.html)
The Chinesecrestedtern is the rarest member of the gull family (Laridae).
Unfortunately for the observers, the four breeding pairs' nesting sites were in amongst those of the greater crestedterns, and under these conditions it was very difficult to distinguish how the appearance of their chicks might differ from that of greater crestedtern chicks.
At present, the main summer-resident birds in the Matsu Archipelago include seven species: the bridled tern, the greater crestedtern, the roseate tern, the fl-naped tern, the fl-tailed gull, the eastern reef heron and the northern white-rumped swift.
At 11h27 we saw an adult ChineseCrestedTernSterna bernsteini on exposed mud near the north branch of the Changjian (Yangtze River) in the northern part of the core area of the reserve (31°34'48.7"N 121°55'12.9"E).
The bird was in non-breeding plumage with an extensive white forehead extending to the centre of the crown, with a fl crest behind.
This is the first record of ChineseCrestedTern for Chongming Dongtan National Nature Reserve and for Shanghai.
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