SOLD Royal Terns in the Channel
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ROYAL TERN
Thalasseus maximus
aka Gaby
The head of the Royal Tern is distinguished at the back by black feathers crested like horns or a crown. The white tail is deeply forked. The wingtips are dark and the head entirely black in summer, when the long bill is a slender orange-red. Like other terns, it stays out at sea in winter, living on fish, but can be seen in summer when it comes to shore to breed, as I have shown it here. This tern measures about about 19 inches and lives up to six years.
The terns nest in spring and summer on sandy beaches, laying two light tan eggs spotted in dark brown. The voice of this bird is a short ‘kwee’ sound