Royal Tern

Thalasseus maximus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
GenusThalasseus (Crested Terns)
SpeciesThalasseus maximus (Royal Tern)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Tikal National Park

1 Verified sightings at Tikal National Park From 2019 to 2026

14,670 Verified sightings across all 54 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Royal Tern

The royal tern (Thalasseus maximus) is a tern in the family Laridae. The species is endemic to the Americas, though vagrants have been identified in Europe. The royal tern was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1781 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Cayenne, French Guiana. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-colored plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Sterna maxima in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The royal tern is now placed in the genus Thalasseus that was erected by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1822.

The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek θάλασσα (thálassa) meaning "sea". The specific epithet maximus is Latin for "greatest". The royal tern belongs to the class Aves and the order Charadriiformes. Charadriiformes includes seabirds and shorebirds of small to medium... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park

Leucophaeus atricilla

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Jacana spinosa

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Actitis macularius

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Tringa solitaria

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Endemic

Himantopus mexicanus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Calidris minutilla

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

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

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~70%
2	Jaragua National Park	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	~60%
3	Paracas National Reserve	🇵🇪 Peru	~40%
4	Celestún Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~40%
5	Península Valdés	🇦🇷 Argentina	~40%
6	Ostional Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~30%
7	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~30%
8	Los Haitises National Park	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	~30%
9	Bahía de Loreto National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	~30%
10	Las Baulas Marine National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~30%
11	Ciénaga de Zapata	🇨🇺 Cuba	~30%
12	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~30%
13	Bastimentos Island National Marine Park	🇵🇦 Panama	~30%
14	Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	~20%
15	Cahuita National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~20%
16	Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~20%
17	Utría National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	~20%
18	Biotopo Cerro Cahuí	🇬🇹 Guatemala	~20%
19	Coiba National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	~20%
20	Channel Islands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
21	Tortuguero National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
22	La Amistad International Park (Panama)	🇵🇦 Panama	~10%
23	Everglades National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
24	Tayrona National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	~10%
25	Machalilla National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	~10%
26	Santa Rosa National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
27	Marino Ballena National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
28	Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
29	Big Cypress National Preserve	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
30	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
31	Palo Verde National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
32	Piedras Blancas National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
33	Soberanía National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
34	Henri Pittier National Park	🇻🇪 Venezuela	<5%
35	Main Ridge Forest Reserve	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	<5%
36	Galápagos Islands	🇪🇨 Ecuador	<5%
37	Darién National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
38	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
39	Chagres National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
40	Carara National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
41	Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
42	Calakmul Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
43	Cañón del Sumidero National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
44	Cabo Pulmo National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
45	San Lorenzo Protected Forest	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
46	Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park	🇯🇲 Jamaica	Insufficient data
47	Caroni Swamp	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	Insufficient data
48	Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
49	Lago de Yojoa	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
50	Pico Bonito National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
51	Parque Natural Metropolitano	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
52	Tikal National Park	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Insufficient data
53	Redwood National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
54	Arenal Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data

← Back to Tikal National Park

Royal Tern

About the Royal Tern

Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park

Laughing Gull

Northern Jacana

Spotted Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Black-necked Stilt

Least Sandpiper

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found