Skin collections show that the Shandong coast of China used to harbor a breeding population of the Chinese Crested Tern, Thalasseus Bemsteini, in the 1930s. However, the current status of this Critically Endangered population is poorly documented. From June to July 2006 a survey was conducted along the southern Shandong coast. The results suggest that the species has likely been extirpated. The extirpation of the regional breeding population may have resulted from anthropogenic colonization and development on the breeding islands starting during the 1950s.