Birds · Charadriiformes · Laridae

Royal Tern

Thalasseus maximus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The royal tern is a large tern with an intensely orange bill and a black cap that in winter is reduced to a band across the nape. It breeds in extremely dense colonies on barrier islands and sandbanks along the American and West African coasts. Its chicks form crèches: as soon as they can walk they gather in flocks of hundreds, which the adults locate by voice amid the deafening noise of the colony.

Weight

320 g – 500 g

Size

45 cm – 50 cm

Lifespan

30 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

OceanIslandsCarnivore Diurnal Colonial Bird Ocean Islands

13countries 17parks19same family

Fun facts

Its chicks form crèches of hundreds of birds, and each adult finds its own in the crowd by recognising its voice: the identification is so precise that a parent can feed its chick among a thousand without error.
It breeds in extremely tight colonies where the nests are less than thirty centimetres apart, a density that reduces predator success by swamping them.
Its intensely orange bill distinguishes it from the lesser crested tern, which is smaller with a paler orange bill and shares many of its African colonies.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Coasts, barrier islands, estuaries and coastal lagoons of the Americas and West Africa
Sexual maturity: 3 years
Gestation / incubation: 28 days
Litter / clutch size: 2

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalasseus_maximus