Date: 8/8/26 9:18 pm From: Kyan Russell <kyansrussell...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] Royal Tern?
Looks like a juvenile Elegant Tern by size as Jeff pointed out. Royals are
closer in size to Caspian. Also, young Elegants' bills start out short like
Royal and get longer as they get older. Common Tern would be significantly
smaller, with a thinner beak and different head and wing pattern.
There seem to be quite a few Royals here in Monterey this week, so
definitely keep checking!
Happy birding,
Kai
On Sat, Aug 8, 2026 at 7:38 PM Jeff Manker <fireweed8...> wrote:
> 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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