Bird Album
Elegant Tern
Thalasseus elegans (Gambel, 1849)
260 gWeight
The elegant tern (Thalasseus elegans) is a tern in the family Laridae.
Busiest months: September · Most records: United States, Chile, Peru
Where and when it's recorded
Busiest months: September · Most records: United States, Chile, Peru
Elegant Tern has been recorded at 198 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 19 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Pillar Point HarborUnited States5,725 records
- Bolsa Chica Ecological ReserveUnited States4,839 records
- San Diego River mudflatsUnited States4,799 records
More places
- Malibu Lagoon – State Beach including LagoonUnited States3,660 records
- Moss Landing – Jetty Road, north jetty & State BeachUnited States3,339 records
- Bolsa Chica – walkbridge/inner bayUnited States2,621 records
- Pt. Pinos – seawatch onlyUnited States2,547 records
- SN Humedal Río Maipo – DesembocaduraChile1,905 records
- Fort MasonUnited States1,638 records
- Rodeo LagoonUnited States1,435 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The elegant tern (Thalasseus elegans) is a tern in the family Laridae. It breeds on the Pacific coast of southern California in the United States and western Mexico, and migrates south to Peru, Ecuador and Chile for the northern winter; in the late summer and fall, some also disperse north to Oregon and more rarely Washington.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Elegant Tern?
The Elegant Tern weighs around 260 g.
Where does the Elegant Tern live?
Its breeding range: North America, Middle America: coastal eastern Pacific of southwestern California and Baja California and Gulf of California (northwestern Mexico). It is most often recorded in United States, Chile and Peru.
When is the best time to see the Elegant Tern?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in September (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Elegant Tern endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Elegant Tern as Near Threatened.
What does the Elegant Tern eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Elegant Tern in?
It belongs to the family Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae), order Charadriiformes.
At a glance
- Weight
- 260 g
- Habitat
- Coast & tidal flats
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Feeds in the air
- Migration
- Migratory
- Conservation
- Near Threatened
More measurements
- Wing
- 297 mm
- Tail
- 127 mm
- Bill
- 64 mm
- Tarsus
- 28 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
North America, Middle America: coastal eastern Pacific of southwestern California and Baja California and Gulf of California (northwestern Mexico)
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Gulls, Terns, Skimmers Laridae
- Genus
- Thalasseus
Other birds in the genus Thalasseus
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
Cabot's TernThalasseus acuflavidus
Lesser Crested TernThalasseus bengalensis
West African Crested TernThalasseus albididorsalis
Royal TernThalasseus maximus
Greater Crested TernThalasseus bergii
Chinese Crested TernThalasseus bernsteini
African SkimmerRynchops flavirostris
Indian SkimmerRynchops albicollis
Black SkimmerRynchops niger
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Ad Konings. ↗
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