CreatureData

Royal tern

Thalasseus maximus (Boddaert, 1783)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The royal tern (Thalasseus maximus) is a species in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 385 g to 464 g and live up to 24.6 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Royal tern (Thalasseus maximus)
Photo: EyeLoveBirds from Vancouver, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the royal tern

Weight
385 g – 464 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
1 m – 1.35 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
24.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
28.6 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
29.3 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1 – 1.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
2.49 years – 3 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the royal tern?

ROYAL TERN · WINGSPAN 1.35 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.35 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the royal tern is about 79% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the royal tern live?

Not recorded

What is the royal tern?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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.

From the Wikipedia article “Royal tern” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Royal_tern&oldid=1362867660), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the royal tern endangered?

The royal tern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the royal tern classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyLaridae
  6. genusThalasseus
  7. SpeciesThalasseus maximus (Boddaert, 1783)

Synonyms Sterna erythrorynchos, Sterna galericulata, Sterna maxima, Sterna maxima maxima, Thalasseus maxima, Thalasseus maxima maxima, Thalasseus maximus, Thalasseus maximus maximus

Other names and names in other languages (44)
  • Sea gullEnglish
  • Koningseeswael (Koningsterretjie)Afrikaans
  • Skrav meurBreton
  • xatrac reial bec-roigCatalan
  • rybák královskýCzech
  • môr-wennol fawrWelsh
  • KönigsseeschwalbeGerman
  • reĝa ŝternoEsperanto
  • Charrán realSpanish
  • Charrán real americanoSpanish
  • kuningtiirEstonian
  • kuningastiiraFinnish
  • Sterne royaleFrench
  • Geabhróg ríúilIrish
  • Sternag reeoilScottish Gaelic
  • שחפית גדולהHebrew
  • királycsérHungarian
  • RosaþernaIcelandic
  • Sterna realeItalian
  • アメリカオオアジサシJapanese
  • karališkoji žuvėdraLithuanian
  • karaliskais zīriņšLatvian
  • koningssternDutch
  • kongeterneNorwegian Nynorsk
  • Bubi ChikíPapiamento
  • Bubi ChiquitoPapiamento
  • Meuchi RealPapiamento
  • Stèrnchi di ReyPapiamento
  • rybitwa królewskaPolish
  • garajau-realPortuguese
  • garajau-real-americanoPortuguese
  • trinta-réis-realPortuguese
  • Королевская крачкаRussian
  • крачка королевскаяRussian
  • GonagasčearretNorthern Sami
  • rybár veľkýSlovak
  • kraljeva čigraSlovenian
  • Kraljevska čigraSerbian
  • kungstärnaSwedish
  • Kral SumruTurkish
  • Королівський крячокUkrainian
  • Крячок королівськийUkrainian
  • 橙嘴凤头燕鸥Chinese
  • 皇家鳳頭燕鷗Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the royal tern

Other species in the same genus Thalasseus.

CompareRoyal tern vs Sandwich ternRoyal tern vs Greater crested ternRoyal tern vs Lesser crested ternRoyal tern vs Chinese crested tern

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the royal tern?

An adult royal tern weighs 385 g – 464 g and has a wingspan of 1 m – 1.35 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the royal tern endangered?

The royal tern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the royal tern live?

The royal tern has a recorded lifespan of 24.6 years.

What kind of animal is the royal tern?

The royal tern (Thalasseus maximus) belongs to the family Laridae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Royal tern (Thalasseus maximus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/royal-tern

MLA

“Royal tern (Thalasseus maximus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/royal-tern.

BibTeX
@misc{royal_tern_2026,
  title = {Royal tern (Thalasseus maximus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/royal-tern},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}