Little Tern

1. Bright yellow bill with a black tip

2. Distinctive white forehead patch in breeding season

3. Tiny size with hurried, deep wingbeats

Little Terns breed in small to medium colonies, often on bare sand or shingle near estuaries and beaches. The breeding season in southeastern Australia is from October to March, with pairs laying 1–3 eggs in a simple scrape on the ground. Both parents share incubation duties, which lasts up to 22 days, and care for the chicks until they fledge at about 17–19 days old. Their diet consists mainly of small fish, crustaceans, and insects, caught by agile hovering and plunge-diving in shallow water.

Little Terns are widespread along Australia’s coasts, from Shark Bay in Western Australia, across northern and eastern Australia, to Tasmania and the Gulf of St Vincent in South Australia. They prefer sandy beaches, estuaries, sheltered inlets, and sometimes venture a few kilometres inland along rivers and harbours. Breeding colonies are typically found on open sand or shingle beaches, sand spits, and occasionally on artificial sites like saltpans.