Arctic tern makes pit stop in Puthalam on 70,000km trip between north & south poles

FIRST SIGHTING IN TN

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

White-cheeked tern (left) and Arctic tern spotted in Puthalam on September 13 and 14

(EXPRESS)

BRINGING much joy to the birders' community, two species of terns have been spotted at the Puthalam saltpans in Kanniyakumari.

This is said to be the first time these seabirds have been found in Tamil Nadu. The birds - an Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) and a white-cheeked tern (Sterna repressa) - were spotted on September 13 and 14, respectively, and subsequently, the birders listed their discovery on the eBird platform.

Anand Shibu, an independent bird researcher, made the first-ever sighting of the Arctic tern in the state.

This bird is famous for the longest migration in the animal kingdom, nearly 70,000 km annually between the Arctic and the Antarctic.