Recent observations of terns, either the Old World Little Tern (Sterna albifrons) or the New World Least Tern (Sterna antillarum), at Pearl and Hermes Reef in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands have documented that one of these species bred there in 1988 and possibly also in the several preceding years. Two small Sterna terns were first observed at Pearl and Hermes in 1984, and the numbers subsequently observed there gradually increased until five birds were recorded in 1988. In 1988 a nest containing three eggs was found, and at least one egg produced a nestling. No small Sterna terns were seen during a 2-week visit to the atoll in 1989 or a 2-day visit in 1990. No specimens were collected, and photographs taken do not permit specific identification of the birds. We favor S. albifrons sinensis because there are now specimen records of Asiatic Little Terns from French Frigate Shoals and Midway Atoll and a sight record from Laysan Island, and because a review of prevailing wind system...

Bridled Tern Sterna anaethetus is a breeding visitor (resident) on Vengurla Rocks (off South Maharashtra), Island of Adam's Bridge (between Indian and Sri Lanka), Lakshdweep, Chagos and perhaps Maldives (Rasmussen and Anderton, 2012). It is a non-breeding visitor to seas of Pakistan, west India, Sri Lanka and Andaman (specimen from south Sentinel, South Andaman, Ross Island and off Narcondam). Hereby, we give recent sighting records of the species from Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Surat (Gujarat).

Pulau Ling is a small rocky island located to the south of Pulau Redang, forming with other southeast small islands, the Redang Archipelago, in the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. The island was highlighted in the early 1950s as an important seabird site, although little was then known on the status of seabirds on the island. Field visits were made between May 2015 and September 2015 to assess the importance of this small island to seabird species. Four tern species were identified: two of them, black-naped tern Sterna sumatrana and bridled tern Onychoprion anaethetus, were found to breed there, while the other two species, great crested tern Thalasseus bergii and roseate tern Sterna dougallii were found to use the island as a stopover site without any evidence of breeding. Furthermore, the Pacific Eastern Reef egret Egretta sacra (the black morph), was also found to breed on the island. Other species encountered included white-bellied sea eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster (recorded once in June 2015, soaring over the island). These preliminary data show the importance of such small rocky outcrops for tropical breeding and migrating seabirds, where food availability and lack of disturbance may be the two main drivers for diversity and survival.

HAMZA, A. & WONG, C. 2020. Updates on seabirds of the northern Seribuat Islands, Pahang, Malaysia. Marine Ornithology 48: 1–7. Because of a lack of systematic surveys since the 1950s, information on seabird diversity and the status of seabird colonies along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia is mostly outdated. The Seribuat Archipelago is composed of many islands, which are located off Pahang state in the north and Johor state in the south. The northern section of the archipelago was surveyed during July–September 2017 to document active seabird colony sites and to assess species richness and the potential threats facing these colonies. Seven islands were found to host significant numbers of terns (Black-naped Terns Sterna sumatrana, Bridled Terns Onychoprion anaethetus, Greater Crested Terns Thalasseus bergii, Lesser Frigatebirds Fregata ariel, and other bird species). We provide details of each site and its suitability for seabirds. Pulau Labas and Pulau Tokong Bahara have the ...

The Little Tern (Sterna lbifrons) and Least Tern (S. antillarum) represent Old World and North American forms, respectively, of a complex of small terns comprising from two to six species (Cramp 1985, Sibley and Monroe 1990, Higgins and Davies 1996, Thompson et al. 1997). Other members of this complex include the Saunder's Tern (S. [albifrons] saunders• of the Middle East, the Yellow-billed (S. [antillarum] superciliaris) and Peruvian (S. [antillarum] Iorata) Terns of South America, and the Fairy Tern (S. nereis) of Australia. Following work by Massey (1976) on the vocalizations of Little and Least Terns, the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU 1983) considered these two separate species, a belief that subsequently has gained widespread acceptance (Sharrock 1993, Olsen and Larsson 1995, Higgins and Davies 1996, Thompson et al. 1997, AOU 1998; but see Patten and Erickson 1996). These two taxa do not breed sympatrically, however, and the only previous record of them together i...