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 Everglades National Park
Cabot's Tern
Thalasseus acuflavidus
Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensis
Laughing Gull
Leucophaeus atricilla
Caspian Tern
Hydroprogne caspia
Black Skimmer
Rynchops niger
Ring-billed Gull
Larus delawarensis
Forster's Tern
Sterna forsteri
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscus
Least Tern
Sternula antillarum
American Herring Gull
Larus smithsonianus
Bonaparte's Gull
Chroicocephalus philadelphia
Great Black-backed Gull
Larus marinus
📅 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 Everglades National Park?
About 11% of visitor-days record a Royal Tern sighting in Everglades National Park, based on 1348 observer-days of citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to see Royal Tern in Everglades National Park?
January has the highest sighting rate for Royal Tern in Everglades National Park in our monthly data.