Date: 8/8/26 7:38 pm From: Jeff Manker <fireweed8...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] Royal Tern?
Lola,
I am not an expert on terns either, but size alone would make me say it is
not a ROTE. Comparing it only to the birds that it is flying in front of,
it seems smaller than both of them. If it were a ROTE it would be close to
the size of the CATE and yet it appears smaller than the ELTE.
Could it be a Common Tern?
Jeff Manker
Alameda
On Sat, Aug 8, 2026 at 7:05 PM Lola Ross <lolabones...> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Brian Scanlon and I looked at a lot of terns on 21st Beach on Thursday,
> August 6 (nice meeting you and birding with you, Brian!). We found several
> candidates for the ROTE that had been spotted the day before, but we kept
> eliminating them as young ELTEs. However, going back through my photos
> today, there were a few birds that gave me pause, none more than this one.
> I’m talking about the one with open wings, landing in front of the CATE. I
> may be off, but to me it looks like there are a couple of good markers for
> ROTE, based on what I can find in Sibley, Merlin, and elsewhere online.
>
> 1. The darkness of the bill for what is clearly a juvenile/immature bird.
> 2. The gonydeal angle on the bill looks (to my eye) like it is more
> forward on the bill, closer to ⅔ of the way away from the base, which would
> be a possible indicator for ROTE.
> 3. The “obvious dark bars,” as Sibley says, on the wings.
>
> However, I know I am no expert, and I would appreciate a weigh-in before I
> add it to my eBird checklist for that outing. I don't want to rely on
> Merlin Photo ID (which also says this is a ROTE).
>
> Thanks,
> Lola
>
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