A large orange-billed tern common on Atlantic coasts.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The royal tern is a tern in the family Laridae. The species is endemic to the Americas, though vagrants have been identified in Europe.
Source: Wikipedia — Royal tern Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Big tern with a slim orange bill, a shaggy black crest, and (for most of the year) a white forehead — full black cap only briefly in early breeding. Pale gray above, white below.
Similar species. Caspian Tern is bulkier with a thick blood-red bill and a darker underwing; Royal is slimmer with an orange bill and usually a white forehead.
Voice. A rolling, grating 'kee-rreet' and ploverlike whistles.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Small fish caught by plunge-diving or surface-snatching.
Behavior. A large coastal tern that plunge-dives for fish in surf and bays; nests in big, dense colonies on barrier islands. Largely a saltwater bird.
§ Range
Atlantic and Gulf coasts
§ Habitat
Coastal beaches, marshes
§ Threats
Coastal habitat loss.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the royal tern is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support coastal conservation.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Royal tern
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Thalasseus maximus
- IUCN Red List — search for Thalasseus maximus
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Thalasseus maximus
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
