The White Tern (Gygis alba) locally known as Dhondheeni, sometimes called as Kandhuvalu dhooni is a small seabird traditionally only confined to the Addu Atoll, the southern extreme atoll in the Maldives.
However, the White Tern is commonly found across the tropical seas of the world and in the Indian Ocean.
The White Tern is one of the most beautiful and interesting resident bird found in the Maldives. It has got all body white with black eye-ring and black bill with blue at the base. Legs and feet are also blue, with yellow to webs. In recent decades white tern has been proudly used as a symbol by the people of Addu Atoll to represent their atoll in the Maldives.
The White Tern primarily feed on smaller fish which it catches by nose-diving down on the surface, but it does not submerge fully. It is a long-lived bird, having been recorded living for 18 years.
It is widely believed that the absence of crows in Addu Atoll has led to the successful flourishing of white terns for more than a century. When crows or any certain predator are around, white terns attack or harass the intruders, normally in order to protect their young. Some argue that this is the main reason why there are no crows found in Addu Atoll.
The main habitat of white tern is breadfruit, mango and other large trees in Addu Atoll. In early 1990s some of the White Terns have migrated to neighboring atoll and started to flourish in Haodigala- an uninhibited island in Ghaafu Dhaal Atoll.
White Tern is a protected bird in the Maldives; hence, their capture, sale and captivity have been
prohibited.
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