8 Things You Need to Know About Adorable White Fairy Tern

These birds are more than just adorable avians with pale feathers, dark black eyes and really cute chicks. They’re connected to Hawaii’s history and culture, and have become icons of adoration for many of the city’s residents and visitors. Below you can learn more about what makes the white fairy tern so special.

Although seeing a white fairy tern now may just cause folks to take out their phones and start snapping photos, sighting a manu-o-Ku had a very different meaning for old-time Hawaiian navigators. Traditional seafarers would use the bird's direction of flight–as well as the time of day–to help them navigate toward land, as the white fairy tern will fly out to sea in the morning to feed and then return to land at night.