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 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve
Elegant Tern
Thalasseus elegans
Western Gull
Larus occidentalis
Ring-billed Gull
Larus delawarensis
Caspian Tern
Hydroprogne caspia
Forster's Tern
Sterna forsteri
California Gull
Larus californicus
American Herring Gull
Larus smithsonianus
Heermann's Gull
Larus heermanni
Bonaparte's Gull
Chroicocephalus philadelphia
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscus
Laughing Gull
Leucophaeus atricilla
Black Skimmer
Rynchops niger
📅 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 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve?
About 28% of visitor-days record a Royal Tern sighting in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, based on 238 observer-days of citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to see Royal Tern in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve?
April has the highest sighting rate for Royal Tern in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve in our monthly data.