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
Roseate tern Roseate tern The roseate tern ("Sterna dougallii") is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name "Sterna" is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and the specific "dougallii" refers to Scottish physician and collector Dr Peter McDougall (1777–1814). "Roseate" refers to the bird's pink breast in breeding plumage. English naturalist George Montagu described the roseate tern in 1813. Genetically, it is most closely related to the white-fronted tern ("S. striata"), with their common ancestor a sister lineage to the black-naped tern ("S. sumatrana"). This species has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage