Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus): Photos, Range and Facts

Overview

The royal tern (Thalasseus maximus) is a tern in the family Laridae. The species is endemic to the Americas, though vagrants have been identified in Europe.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where to see it

Destination guides featuring this bird

Mauritania Banc d’Arguin National Park Desert meets ocean: one of the world's great wintering sites for shorebirds.

JJanuary: Best
FFebruary: Best
MMarch: Best
AApril: Good
MMay: Poor or no data
JJune: Poor or no data
JJuly: Poor or no data
AAugust: Poor or no data
SSeptember: Good
OOctober: Best
NNovember: Best
DDecember: Best

Range and habitat

Breeds coastal southern California and Gulf of California to Sinaloa and Islas Tres Marias, and Atlantic from Virginia southward to Florida, Gulf of Mexico to s Texas, and Caribbean including peripheral islands southeastward to French Guiana, and disjunctly coastal southern Brazil, Uruguay, and east-central Argentina.

Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.