will swiftly take flight, closely followed by one or more of his potential mates. The spectacle continues until there remains only one follower. The pair will land together, the male may offer the fish to the female in acceptance of courtship, or he may disapprove of the female and retain the fish for himself. If accepted, the partnership begins. The pair takes to the air together following one another in a magnificent flight display, signifying successful courtship. White-fronted tern are monogamous, so will stay together for the entire breeding season. Shortly after courtship, the pair will choose a spot for their nest. No real effort goes into nest-building, it can be directly onto bare ground or in a rocky area. The nest site may already have a nest-like shape to it, but sometimes small stones can be brought in to furnish the bottom of the hollow. Nests are tightly packed together, sometimes with less than a metre between them. In large breeding colonies there may be hundreds of nests. Laying in breeding colonies is synchronised, with large numbers of females laying on the same day. Some variations occur and are due to the age of the adults, with older birds laying earlier in the season. They will lay 1–2 eggs and on rare occasions, 3. The brown speckled eggs vary in their pale base colour, which can range from green, through blue to brown. The size of an egg is on average 46 × 33 mm. The clutch is cared for by both male and female, with an incubation period of approximately 24 days. Adults will continue to join the colony and lay eggs from October–January. The colour of the chicks is highly variable. They can be a combination of greys, browns, whites and blacks with a speckled and fluffy appearance. Chicks will remain in the nest and be brooded by both adults for several days. It can be up to a week before the chicks leave the nest and join others in a crèche; here they have protection due to the more substantial numbers, while adults are away foraging for food. When a chick is lost to a predator or natural event during the breeding season, more clutches will be laid. Adults are likely to only raise only one chick to fledging, even if two eggs have been laid. Adults will care for their chick for 29-35 days, at