Royal Tern
Thalasseus maximus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Caradriformes)
- FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
- GenusThalasseus (Crested Terns)
- SpeciesThalasseus maximus (Royal Tern)
Closest Relatives at Darién National Park
Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensis
Laughing Gull
Leucophaeus atricilla
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
Brown Noddy
Anous stolidus
Black Tern
Chlidonias niger
Large-billed Tern
Phaetusa simplex
Larus pipixcan
Leucophaeus pipixcan
Sooty Tern
Onychoprion fuscatus
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon nilotica
Sabine's Gull
Xema sabini
Southern Lapwing
Vanellus chilensis
Wattled Jacana
Jacana jacana
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Royal Tern in Darién National Park?
About 1% of visitor-days record a Royal Tern sighting in Darién National Park, based on 39 observer-days of citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to see Royal Tern in Darién National Park?
January has the highest sighting rate for Royal Tern in Darién National Park in our monthly data.