The Chinese Crested Tern (Thalasseus bernsteini) yet again, surprises the wild with its rare presence after several decades of invisibility. In fact, they were once thought to be extinct.
Chinese Crested Tern’s sight and specimen records show that their population was just as few as half of a hundred. Due to their rarity, they were tagged as a bird of legend and were labeled as critically endangered species.
These birds were first sighted in Indonesia in 1863 and were randomly spotted again after a few years that turn into decades in China, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan. In the Philippines, there were sight records of them in 1905 and made its surprising come back in March 2018 and just recently, November 2019 among other migratory birds that landed in the coastal wetlands of Panabo, Davao del Norte.
Ornithologists and conservationists around the world are unceasingly formulating measures to preserve these rare birds and increase their population which include conservation of their habitat and breeding colonies.
Among the threats attributed to their declining population are bird hunting, egg collection and other human and natural disturbances.
We can contribute to the conservation of Chinese Crested Terns and all other birds and save them from the danger of extinction simply by not being a threat. Please, do not disturb or hunt them, do not collect, buy or consume their eggs.
Let them fly and multiply freely.
(Photo taken in March 2018 courtesy of Peter Simpson, a professional birdwatcher.)
- Details
- Parent Category: News & Events
- Category: Press Releases
- Published: 16 December 2019