ELEGANT TERN
ELEGANT TERN (Thalasseus elegans) – (See images below)
DESCRIPTION: The Elegant Tern is mainly white with a black cap and a thin orange bill. The legs are black. The bird is around 16 inches (40 cm) long.
VOICE: https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Thalasseus-elegans
NAME: The name ‘Tern’ is from Old Norwegian ‘taerne’ for this species. The Latin genus name ‘Thalasseus’ means ‘sea’.
HABITAT: Usually coastal waters.
DIET: Dives from the air to catch fish or invertebrates.
NESTING: Dense colonies on small sandy or rocky islands. Usually one light beige egg is laid, incubated by both parents. Chick likely fed by both parents.
DISTRIBUTION: Breeding range: Pacific coast of Mexico and southern USA. Wintering range: Pacific coast of South America. Some vagrants have been able to reach Hawaii. (See note below for information on bird vagrancy.)
CONSERVATION: This species is listed as ‘near threatened’ by the IUCN, but currently the population appears stable. Threats include predation on nests, habitat loss and pollution of their marine environments.
Vagrancy: In biology this means an animal going way outside its normal range. For birds, this can happen when there are storms and they get blown off course. On other times, the bird simply wanders in a different direction than usual. Here’s an article about vagrancy in birds.
SIMILAR SPECIES: Royal Tern, Caspian Tern
REFERENCES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elegant_tern
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Elegant_Tern/id
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/elegant-tern
http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/elegant_tern
http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/467/overview/Elegant_Tern.aspx
https://www.sdnhm.org/oceanoasis/fieldguide/ster-ele.html (San Diego Natural History Museum)
DESCRIPTION: The Elegant Tern is mainly white with a black cap and a thin orange bill. The legs are black. The bird is around 16 inches (40 cm) long.
VOICE: https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Thalasseus-elegans
NAME: The name ‘Tern’ is from Old Norwegian ‘taerne’ for this species. The Latin genus name ‘Thalasseus’ means ‘sea’.
HABITAT: Usually coastal waters.
DIET: Dives from the air to catch fish or invertebrates.
NESTING: Dense colonies on small sandy or rocky islands. Usually one light beige egg is laid, incubated by both parents. Chick likely fed by both parents.
DISTRIBUTION: Breeding range: Pacific coast of Mexico and southern USA. Wintering range: Pacific coast of South America. Some vagrants have been able to reach Hawaii. (See note below for information on bird vagrancy.)
CONSERVATION: This species is listed as ‘near threatened’ by the IUCN, but currently the population appears stable. Threats include predation on nests, habitat loss and pollution of their marine environments.
Vagrancy: In biology this means an animal going way outside its normal range. For birds, this can happen when there are storms and they get blown off course. On other times, the bird simply wanders in a different direction than usual. Here’s an article about vagrancy in birds.
SIMILAR SPECIES: Royal Tern, Caspian Tern
REFERENCES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elegant_tern
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Elegant_Tern/id
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/elegant-tern
http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/elegant_tern
http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/467/overview/Elegant_Tern.aspx
https://www.sdnhm.org/oceanoasis/fieldguide/ster-ele.html (San Diego Natural History Museum)
 |
| Elegant Tern, Moss Landing, CA Sept. 24, 2016, by Roberta Palmer |
 |
| Elegant tern flying, CA, by Roberta Palmer |
 |
| Elegant tern, Roberta Palmer |
 |
| Elegant tern with fish, Moss Landing, CA Sept. 24, 2016, by Roberta Palmer |
 |
| Elegant tern in flight, by Roberta Palmer |
 |
| Elegant tern, by Roberta Palmer |