Mystery bird: white tern, Gygis alba  These Pacific Island
mystery birds are famous for their peculiar nesting behaviours
(includes a couple videos that will make you say "SQUEEEE!")
(Common) white tern, Gygis alba (protonym, Sterna alba), also
known as the manu-o-Kū, or the angel tern, white noddy, Atlantic
white tern, and incorrectly (and confusingly) as the fairy tern
(a common name that actually belongs to a different species,
Sternula nereis), photographed at Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii (USA).
Image: Mike Dunford, 19 July 2011 (with permission)
[velociraptorize]. Canon EOS 60D, 105 mm, ISO: 100, f/7.1, 1/500
sec  Question: These Pacific Island mystery birds are famous for
their peculiar nesting behaviours. What weird nesting behaviour
do they have? Why do they show this strange behaviour? Can you
identify this species?  Response: This is an adult pair of
common white terns, Gygis alba, that nest on Waikiki, on the
island of Oahu, Hawai'i. This small, monomorphic species has a
large range that includes the Pa