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 Main Ridge Forest Reserve
Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensis
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
Laughing Gull
Leucophaeus atricilla
Black-headed Gull
Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Brown Noddy
Anous stolidus
Audouin's Gull
Ichthyaetus audouinii
Roseate Tern
Sterna dougallii
Southern Lapwing
Vanellus chilensis
Sanderling
Calidris alba
Spotted Sandpiper
Actitis macularius
Greater Yellowlegs
Tringa melanoleuca
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpres
📅 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 Main Ridge Forest Reserve?
About 2% of visitor-days record a Royal Tern sighting in Main Ridge Forest Reserve, based on 7 observer-days of citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to see Royal Tern in Main Ridge Forest Reserve?
May has the highest sighting rate for Royal Tern in Main Ridge Forest Reserve in our monthly data.