Fairy tern of extinction for decades. The fairy tern was consequently uplisted to Vulnerable status in 2008. The New Zealand fairy tern has numerous breeding areas, largely incorporating the upper-north region of the North Island. In 2011, there were only about 42 known individuals. With a breeding program in place by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, the population was estimated in 2018 at 43. Fairy tern The fairy tern ("Sternula nereis") is a small tern which is native to the southwestern Pacific. It is listed as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN and the New Zealand subspecies is "Critically Endangered". There are three
Sooty tern as "manutara". The "manutara" played an important role in the "tangata manu" ("birdman") ritual: whichever "hopu" (champion) could retrieve the first "manutara" egg from Motu Nui islet would become that year's "tangata manu"; his clan would receive prime access to resources, especially seabird eggs. Sooty tern The sooty tern ("Onychoprion fuscatus") is a seabird in the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. The sooty tern was described by Linnaeus in 1766 as "Sterna fuscata", bearing this name for many years until the genus "Sterna" was split up. It is