Royal Tern

Thalasseus maximus (Boddaert, 1783)

Royal Tern, Thalasseus maximus, breeds along coasts in North America, Middle America and South America, with colonies on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the Americas. It is a member of the Laridae family and the order Charadriiformes. Its breeding range runs from Virginia and Florida through the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and French Guiana, and also includes southern California, the Gulf of California and parts of southern South America. A key feature is its stout orange-red bill, together with pale grey upperparts, white underparts and black legs. The crown is black, with a shaggy crest in the breeding season.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Breeding range

North America, Middle America, South America: coastal w North Atlantic from Virginia to Florida, Gulf of Mexico to s Texas, Campeche Bank (ne Mexico), off n Honduras, through West Indies and off n Venezuela to French Guiana; s California, n Gulf of California to Sinaloa and Is. Tres Marias (off wc Mexico) and disjunctly coastal s Brazil, Uruguay and ec Argentina