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Elegant Tern

Sterna elegans ORDER: CHARADRIIFORMES FAMILY: LARIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Near Threatened

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A medium-sized tern with a shaggy crest and a long, slightly drooping orange bill, the Elegant Tern is seen along the Pacific Coast. After nesting in very southern California and Mexico, it wanders northward to northern California, or even to British Columbia.

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Calls

  • Calls
  • Courtesy of Macaulay Library
    © Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

A grating "kirr-ick."

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