Chinese crested tern  (Sterna bernsteini)

The Chinese crested tern is poorly understood. The bird has been recorded in the past on the eastern coast of China, in Hebei, Shandong, Fujian and Guangdong, and outside the breeding season on Halmahera (Indonesia), in Sarawak (Malaysia) and in Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines. The only recent records are from China in Hebei in 1978 and Shandong in 1991, with a possible record from peninsular Thailand in 1980. The only known current population was found on the Mazu Dao islands off the east coast of mainland China (but under the administration of Taipei) in 2000. The current total numbers are unknown but are thought to be very small given the rarity of recent records (4).

Although poorly understood, available records indicate that this bird roosts in coastal areas and is otherwise pelagic (4).