A Least Tern Makes a 
Right Turn 
With a little help from the Endangered 
Species Act, an imperiled California 
bird is on the road to recovery 
by Barbara W. Massey 
Photographs by George D. Lepp 
One endangered animal that seems to 
have a good chance for survival is the 
California least tern ( Sterna albifrons 
browni). This feisty bird, the smallest of 
its genus, is making a comeback, thanks 
to strong protective efforts on its behalf. 
The California least tern is one of three 
subspecies of S. albifrons that breed in 
the United States. On the eastern sea- 
board S. a. antillarum nests on beaches 
from Maine to Florida, its breeding biol- 
ogy very similar to the California least 
tern. An inland race, the interior least 
tern (S. a. athalassos) nests on sandbars 
in rivers of the Mississippi drainage sys- 
tem. The west coast birds breed from 
