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ABOUT THIS SPECIES

ELEGANT TERN – (Species Account Blog #71)

TAXONOMIC TREE:  

• ORDER: Charadriiformes,
• FAMILY: Laridae,
• BINOMIAL NAME: Thalasseus elegans

The Elegant Tern is a long-billed tern of the Pacific coast, from the U.S. to Chile. Pale gray above with shaggy black cap in breeding plumage; nonbreeding birds develop white forehead. Best field mark is the slender orange bill with a slight droop. Strictly coastal; commonly found on beaches and estuaries. (from Birds of the World)

SIMILAR SPECIES

Adult Elegant Tern is distinctive in appearance and not easily confused with other species occurring within its breeding range. Of these, Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) is the most similar. Elegant Tern is distinguished by narrower, relatively longer bill; smaller size; slimmer body; shorter legs; longer, shaggier crest; and more deeply forked tail.

DISTRIBUTION

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PERSONAL OBSERVATION ANECDOTES

In Costa Rica we observed Elegant Terns mixed in with Royal Terns and a couple of Sandwich Terns while on the boat tour at the mouth of the Tárcoles River.

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PHOTO GALLERY

**Some of these Photo Gallery images (all taken by me) have been taken in other nearby countries.

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RECENT BLOG POSTS

View the five most recent Birds & Birding in Costa Rica series blog posts below.

• A Streak-headed Woodcreeper Feeds its Offspring Near the Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica
• PALE-BILLED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
• SMOKY-BROWN WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
• HOFFMANN’S WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
• BLACK-CHEEKED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding