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
Little tern Little tern The little tern ("Sternula albifrons") is a seabird of the family Sternidae. It was formerly placed into the genus "Sterna", which now is restricted to the large white terns. The genus name is a diminutive of "Sterna", "tern". The specific "albifrons" is from Latin "albus", "white", and "frons", "forehead". The former North American ("S. a. antillarum") and Red Sea "S. a. saundersi" subspecies are now considered to be separate species, the least tern ("Sternula antillarum") and Saunders's tern ("Sternula saundersi"). This bird breeds on the coasts and inland waterways of temperate and tropical Europe and Asia. It is