Royal Tern (Sterna maxima)
(aka Thalasseus maximus)
The Royal Tern is distributed along the Atlantic coast of Africa and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North and South America.
Royal tern Sterna maxima
Identification Tips:
Length: 18 inches Wingspan: 43 inches
Sexes similar
Dives into water for prey
Large tern with fairly thick orange bill
Fairly long, deeply forked tail
Spiky crest at the rear of the head ...
Royal Tern ( Thalasseus maximus )
Royal Tern, Laguna Madre Breakwater, South Padre Island, Texas
Photograph by Alan And Elaine Wilson. Some rights reserved. (view image details) ...
Royal Tern
Sterna maxima
The Royal Tern (Sterna maxima) is pretty much strictly a coastal tern and is only rarely found far from salt water.
Royal Tern
Sterna maxima Boddaert
Status Five records. The first was a female taken on Brier Island by Wickerson Lent on 1 October 1958 following a heavy gale which had lashed the coast a few days earlier.
Royal Tern nests in large and noisy colonies, up to several thousands pairs. These colonies often are mixed or close to those of Caspian and Sandwich Terns.
Royal Terns inhabit beaches. They nest colonially, primarily along the Gulf Coast from Yankeetown to Charlotte Harbor.
Royal Tern
Winter Sighting Information: rare
Nest on or near Refuge? no
Brown Thrasher
Winter Sighting Information: uncommon
Nest on or near Refuge? yes ...
Royal Tern Sterna maxima. Breeder. Common in all seasons in Gulf Coast region. In Mountain and Inland Coastal Plain regions, occasional in fall. Found in the Gulf and on bays and beaches. Low Conservation Concern.
Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus: whale watching from Newport Harbor, CA 04 Jan
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sanvicensis: Cupsogue Beach County Park, Westhampton, NY, 29 Jun ...
Royal Tern Sterna maxima
Lesser Crested Tern Sterna bengalensis
Swift Tern Sterna bergii
Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis
Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii
Black-naped Tern Sterna sumatrana (A)
Common Tern Sterna hirundo ...
Royal tern (Sterna maxima)
Common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca)
Common greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)
Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii)
Bulatmai barbel (Luciobarbus capito) ...
A medium sized tern between a Forster's and Royal Tern in size. Black legs and feet. Black crown and ragged crest. The tail is deeply forked and short. the long slim black bill tipped with yellow is distinctive.
We had similar birds to David Donsker.........but NO
ROYAL TERN. We did get a Black Tern flying along the MA/NH state line
so we counted for a year bird in both states! Seas not too bad, but
stiff wind made the ride a bit bumpy.
American terns include the common, least, Forster's, noddy, sooty, roseate, and royal terns, all of the genus Sterna. Terns are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Charadriiformes, family Laridae.
terns have long orange bills, black caps with shaggy crests, light gray upper parts, white under parts that sometimes include a pink flush on the belly-feathers, and black legs. Elegant Terns are very similar in appearance to the larger Royal Terns, ...
Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus)
Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Royal Tern (Sterna maxima)
Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)
Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata) ...
 See also: Caspian Tern, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs
|
