In pics: Little terns nest, take care of offspring in Xiamen, SE China's Fujian

A little tern flies over the sea in search of fish in Xinglin Bay, Jimei district, Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

With their white foreheads, jet-black necks and backs, and upright postures, Xiamen's "old friends", the little terns, have returned.

The little terns have been seen nesting, hatching eggs and taking care of their babies on a beach in Xinglin Bay, Jimei district, Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province.

The birds fly to oceans in tropical and sub-tropical areas for winter every year, according to the Xiamen Bird Watching Society. During the summer migration, they usually choose to stop in Xiamen for nesting and hatching. Their incubation period usually lasts for 24 to 27 days.

Little terns are seen in Xinglin Bay, Jimei district, Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Photo/Wang Xieyun)

Little terns are seen in Xinglin Bay, Jimei district, Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Photo/Zhou Longjie)

An adult little tern gets its baby back to the nest in Xinglin Bay, Jimei district, Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Photo/Chen Lixin)

File photo shows a little tern flying over the sea in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

Little terns feed their baby in Xinglin Bay, Jimei district, Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Photo/Huang Rong)

File photo shows little terns in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

File photo shows little terns in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)