Chlidonias albostriatus

Beginner's lesson in blipping: if your photo comes out blurry, process the crap out of it. Voila! It's art.

The Black-Fronted Tern. This is an endemic species of tern that breeds in the braided river courses mostly of the South Island. It is in decline and recognized as endangered. As a ground-nesting species it is vulnerable to predation by introduced cats and possums, and by humans recreating (especially in four wheel drive vehicles) in the rivers.

They feed on freshwater fishes and hawk insects over the water. This one was hovering along the Pukaki Canal outside Twizel. I drove alongside it in my car as it moved quickly down the channel in the blustery afternoon wind--what a delicate and lovely little thing.