Tuesday 27 September 2022

Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Thalasseus elegans

Non-breeding Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) at Monterey, California - September 2022

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 200-300g  /  Length: 39-43cm  /  Wingspan: 76-81cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Near Threatened

A somewhat paradoxical species - they have incredibly dense breeding colonies but only in a few very specific locations around the Gulf of California, but meanwhile its non-breeding range stretches from central Chile up along the Pacific Coast to the Oregon. They also, from a birding perspective are unusually variable in their non-breeding plumage, with their bills in particular ranging across red, orange, yellow and pink, making it a somewhat frustrating exercise to pick out other species in amongst them.

Related Species:

Family: Laridae (Formerly Sternidae)
Genus: Thalasseus
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 


 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES 
Breeds at a single site in California, nn-breeding along Souther Half of West Coast
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at Hayward and Monterey 


Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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