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Elegant Tern Sterna elegans Charadriiformes; Laridae Click on images for full screen Elegants and Royals can be difficult to distinguish. Elegants have a slightly longer and thinner bill, are generally more gracile in body shape, and have a slightly longer crest. Both are easy to distinguish from the Caspian tern, which has a heavy ruby-red (rather than orange) bill and a somewhat less deeply forked tail. Web design by Peter J. Bryant |
Alternate plumage, Bolsa Chica, Orange Co., 6-07. © John C. Avise. |
Alternate plumge, Huntington Beach, Orange Co., 4-06. © John C. Avise. |
Basic plumage, Santa Barbara, CA., 10-06. © John C. Avise. |
Alternate plumage, Bolsa Chica, Orange Co., 7-06. © John C. Avise. |
Alternate plumage, Bolsa Chica, Orange Co., 6-07. © John C. Avise. |
Alternate plumage, Bolsa Chica, Orange Co., 6-07. © John C. Avise. |
Alternate plumage, Bolsa Chica, Orange Co., 6-07. © John C. Avise. |
Alternate plumage, Santa Ana River mouth, Orange Co., 3-06. © John C. Avise. |
Alternate plumage, Santa Ana River mouth, Orange Co., 3-06. © John C. Avise. |
Video from 30 March 2021, Bolsa Chica, Orange County, CA. © Peter J. Bryant |