img
Birds

Royal
Tern

Least Concern

Stable

Royal Tern

Thalasseus maximus

The Royal Tern is a seabird. It has a long yellow bill, pale grey upperparts and white underparts. Its legs are black. In winter, the black cap becomes patchy. Juvenile Royal Terns have a scaly-backed appearance.

This species breeds in colonies on coasts and islands. It nests in a ground scrape and lays one or two eggs. Like all white terns, it is fiercely defensive of its nest and young.

Royal Tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, usually from saline environments. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.

-

Regional Names
  • French:
    Sterne royale
Media Gallery
Taxanomy

CHARADRIIFORMES
LARIDAE
Thalasseus maximus

ADVERTISEMENT
Similar Birds

similar Birds you may like

img

Aleutian Tern

Onychoprion aleuticus
Read more
img

Black Skimmer

Rynchops niger
Read more
img

Blue-gray Noddy

Anous ceruleus
Read more
img

Elegant Tern

Thalasseus elegans
Read more
img

Forster's Tern

Sterna forsteri
Read more
img

Gray-backed Tern

Onychoprion lunatus
Read more
img

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica
Read more
img

Inca Tern

Larosterna inca
Read more
img

Indian River Tern

Sterna aurantia
Read more
img

Indian Skimmer

Rynchops albicollis
Read more
img

Large-billed Tern

Phaetusa simplex
Read more
img

Least Tern

Sternula antillarum
Read more
img

Lesser Crested Tern

Thalasseus bengalensis
Read more
img

Little Tern

Sternula albifrons
Read more
img

Red-legged Kittiwake

Rissa brevirostris
Read more
img

Sandwich Tern

Thalasseus sandvicensis
Read more
img

Sooty Tern

Onychoprion fuscatus
Read more
img

Whiskered Tern

Chlidonias hybrida
Read more
img

Yellow-billed Tern

Sternula superciliaris
Read more