Home Application Download FAQ
English
English
繁體中文
日本語
Español
Français
Deutsch
Pусский
Português
Italiano
한국어
Nederlands
العربية

Royal Tern

A species of Crested terns
Scientific name : Thalasseus maximus Genus : Crested terns

Royal Tern, A species of Crested terns
Botanical name: Thalasseus maximus
Genus: Crested terns
Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) Photo By Melissa McMasters , used under CC-BY-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Description

This is a large tern, second only to Caspian tern but is unlikely to be confused with the carrot-billed giant, which has extensive dark under wing patches. The royal tern has an orange-red bill, pale grey upper parts and white under parts. Its legs are black. In winter, the black cap becomes patchy. Juvenile royal terns are similar to non-breeding adults. Differences include juveniles having black splotched wings and a yellower bill. An adult royal tern has an average wingspan of 130 cm (51 in), for both sexes, but their wingspan can range from 125–135 cm (49–53 in). The royal tern's length ranges from 45–50 cm (18–20 in) and their average weight is anywhere from 350–450 g (12–16 oz). The calls of the royal tern are usually short, clear shrills. Some of the shrills sound like kree or tsirr; the royal tern also has a more plover like whistle that is longer, rolling and is more melodious. In various parts of its range, the royal tern could be confused with the elegant tern, lesser crested tern (the other orange-billed terns), and the greater crested tern. It is paler above than lesser crested tern and the yellow-billed great crested tern. The elegant tern has a longer more curved bill and shows more white on the forehead in winter.
Size
46 - 53 cm
Colors
Black
Gray
White
Life Expectancy
17 years
Nest Placement
Ground
Clutch Size
1 - 2 eggs
Incubation Period
1 brood
Number of Broods
28 - 31 days
Nestling Period
28 - 35 days
Feeding Habits
Royal Tern primarily consume small fish like anchovies, sardines, and bluefish, along with shrimp and crabs, catching them via 30-foot-high plunge-diving. Foraging occurs in various-sized groups, typically over shallow waters such as estuaries, and occasionally at night for squid. They often feed near colonies but can travel far and typically swallow prey mid-flight.
Habitat
Royal Tern predominantly reside in coastal environments, favoring sandy beaches, harbors, and estuaries. They are adapted to warm, marine conditions and are usually found in areas close to shorelines. While rearing their young, royal Tern may travel more than 50 miles offshore or along inland saltwater bays and rivers. Post-hurricane events can occasionally disperse them into interior regions of North America.
Nest Behavior
Nesting involves ground site selection, digging, synchronous egg-laying, and both parents incubating the eggs and caring for the fledglings.
Nest Characteristics
Royal Tern's nest is an unlined depression in sand, chosen on beaches or islands. Males and females collaborate to form it with feet and body, marked by defecation along the rim.
Dite type
Piscivorous

General Info

Sounds

Call
Recording location: United States
JuvenileCall
Recording location: United States

Behavior

Royal Terns exhibit both solitary and social tendencies. During nesting, they form dense colonies but display territorial behaviors in courtship. Males court females with aerial displays and gift exchanges, such as offering a fish mid-flight. On land, the presentation of prey items and mutual preening reinforce pair bonds. Royal Terns are mostly monogamous and both parents are involved in incubation and chick-rearing. Post-hatching, young royal Terns may be aggressively defended from neighboring chicks but are eventually grouped into crèches, reducing parental aggression. These birds continue to feed fledglings for several months, even after migrating to wintering grounds. Outside breeding, they show gregariousness, often mingling with other seabirds.

Distribution Area

In the Americas, the royal terns on the east coast, during the breeding season (April to July), occur in the US north to Virginia, occasionally drifting north to Long Island, New York. The southern end of their breeding range is Texas. The wintering range on the east coast is from North Carolina south to Panama and the Guianas, also the Caribbean islands. On the western coast of the Americas, the royal tern spends the breeding season from the US state of California to Mexico, wintering from California south to Peru. American birds migrate south to Peru and Argentina for the winter to escape the cold weather. African birds may reach as far north as Spain. This species has also wandered to Western Europe as a rare vagrant, these terns are probably from the American colonies.

Species Status

The royal tern is one of the species addressed in the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Water Birds (AEWA). The AEWA covers 255 species that depend on wetlands for part of their life. The AEWA covers birds from 64 countries in Africa and Eurasia. There are little other conservation efforts because the royal tern's status is of least concern. The reason there is little concern for the extinction of the royal tern is that the species has not experienced a significant enough decrease in population to become threatened or endangered.
Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) Photo By Melissa McMasters , used under CC-BY-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Scientific Classification

Download Picture Bird
Identify any bird by photo or sound in seconds
Cookie Management Tool
In addition to managing cookies through your browser or device, you can change your cookie settings below.
Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Analytical Cookies
Analytical cookies help us to improve our application/website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_ga Google Analytics These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here. 1 Year
_pta PictureThis Analytics We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_ga
Source
Google Analytics
Purpose
These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_pta
Source
PictureThis Analytics
Purpose
We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience.
Lifespan
1 Year
Marketing Cookies
Marketing cookies are used by advertising companies to serve ads that are relevant to your interests.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_fbp Facebook Pixel A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here. 1 Year
_adj Adjust This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_fbp
Source
Facebook Pixel
Purpose
A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_adj
Source
Adjust
Purpose
This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year
Download