Tern Island Seabirds

	*Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)* Approximately 2500 pairs of Laysan Albatross nest on Tern Island each year. Eggs are laid at the beginning of December, hatch in February, and the chicks fledge in July. In a very stylized courtship display, albatrosses dance to find a mate. Click to listen to their courtship display (156KB).

			*Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)* nest on Tern Island with a schedule similar to the Laysan Albatross. These birds forage as far away as the California coast. Click to listen to hear a chick snapping its bill (55KB), used to tell people or other birds that they are too close.

	*Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus pacificus)* nest in burrows that they dig in sand or soft soil. During their breeding season, the "wedgies" call to each other in an eerie and sometimes comical moaning sound. Click to listen to a couple of wedgies moaning (168K).

			*Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor)*. Hundreds of frigatebirds hang on the ocean breeze and dot the sparse bushes on Tern Island. These birds are master of the wind and make a living by stealing food from other birds.Click to listen to a frigatebird chick (101KB).

	*Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda)* nest under bushes. The female lays one rose-colored egg and shares the responsibilities of incubation with the male. Chicks are fed large chunks of fish and can be very vociferous in begging from their parents. Click to listen to a tropicbird chick begging to be fed (114KB) or the sounds of an adult tropicbird (60KB).

			*Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra)* nest in shallow scrapes on the ground. They prefer areas without vegetation. Tern Island has about 100 nesting pairs of Masked Boobies each year. The vocalization of the male sounds like a wheezing whistle, and the female sounds like a flat horn. Click to listen to a male and female Masked Booby (111KB).

	*Red-footed Booby (Sula sula)* nest by the hundreds on Tern Island. They share the bushes with the frigatebirds, and the two species often compete with each other for nesting sites and nest materials. Click to listen to the grunt of a Red-footed Booby (73KB).

			Ruddy Turnstone, Wandering Tattler, Sanderling, Pacific Golden Plover, and Bristle-thighed Curlew are the four most common shorebird species that are seen on Tern Island. Most of them are just passing through on migration.

	*Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata)* is by far the most numerous bird on Tern Island (and is the island's namesake). During their summer breeding season, Tern Island is blanketed with the black-and-white of hundreds of thousands of nesting "sooties". The calls and shrieks of that many birds can be deafening, and many of the biologists use earplugs while working in the colony. Click to listen to the Sooty Tern cacophony (80KB).

			*Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus)* nest on the ground and lay one speckled egg amidst sparse vegetation or coral rubble. Click to listen to the croaking Brown Noddy (44KB) amidst the loud Sooty Terns.

	*Black Noddy (Anous minutus)* nest on bushes and appear to like each other's company. On Tern Island, they nest together on select bushes. The noddies like to sun themselves, perhaps in an attempt to rid themselves of insect pests. They can often be seen with wings spread open at their sides facing into the sun. Click to listen to the calls of Black Noddies (57KB).

			*White Terns (Gygis alba)* capture the hearts of many visitors to Tern Island. Their strikingly white plumage, large eyes, and curious habit of laying their eggs on bare branches or parts of the barracks make them an island favorite. Click to listen to a pair of White Terns (117KB).

			Tern Island also provides critical nesting habitat for Gray-backed Tern, Bonin Petrel, Bulwer's Petrel, Christmas Shearwater, and Tristram's Storm-petrel. For more comprehensive information on the seabird species that breed on Tern Island, see the USFWS Seabird Conservation Plan.