Our favorite bird to watch here in the islands of Tahiti is the White Tern, also known as a Fairy Tern or “itata’e” in Tahitian. Not only are they beautiful and fun to watch, but they hold a special place in Polynesian history and the settlement of the islands. They are silky white, graceful, avid hunters and most often are found to mate for life. Fairy Terns typically lay one egg per season. Amazingly, they lay their egg directly on a small tree branch with no nest. Both the male and female watch and protect the egg for approximately 36 days until it hatches. The youngster is born with unusually large claws that allows them to grasp on to tree branches when they are just born and quite fragile.
Polynesian history tells that the “itata’e” was created as a messenger or incarnation of the god “Tane”. Tane was known as the god of all beautiful things who allowed light to enter into creation. These birds generally roam no more than 45 km from their home island while hunting for fish and return back home at nightfall. For this reason, ancient Polynesian navigators searching for land depended on these land finding birds as they were exploring and settling the Pacific. Since both Mahi Mahi and the Fairy Terns both share a diet of “flying fish”, currently these birds are still useful to local fisherman looking for Mahi Mahi out in the open waters.
These incredible birds are found throughout the island of French Polynesia, the Pacific, Indian and the South Atlantic Oceans. Some of our guests been lucky enough to see these incredible birds while chartering our luxury catamarans off the coast of Raiatea. We particularly love to watch these birds flying with their mate, seeming to look like they are playing and having so much fun.