The elegant tern is a beautiful seabird that is widely distributed in the Americas from California to South America. In this blog post, we will explore some basic information about this fascinating bird, including its physical characteristics, habitat, food habits, and other interesting facts.
Basic Description:
The elegant tern (Thalasseus elegans) is a medium-sized bird with an average body length of 14-16 inches and a wingspan ranging from 30 to 35 inches. It has white plumage on its head and body with black feathers on its back and upper wings. The bill of the elegant tern is orange-red with a black tip that curves downward. During breeding season, adult birds develop crested tufts on their heads.
Where To Find This Bird:
Elegant terns are found along the Pacific coast from southern California to Peru but primarily breed in Mexico’s Gulf of California region. They spend most of their time close to shorelines or offshore islands where they can fish for food easily.
Habitat:
Elegant Terns prefer nesting habitats like rocky offshore islands or sandy beaches near estuaries as these areas provide ample food sources such as small fish and crustaceans.
Food:
As piscivorous birds by nature, Elegant Tern feeds mainly on small fishes such as anchovies or sardines which they capture by plunging into water after spotting them at shallow depth levels during flighted fishing trips over water bodies around their range
Cool Facts:
• The Elegant Tern has an estimated population size of around 100k-200k individuals.
• These birds often lay eggs together in large groups called colonies.
• During courtship displays before mating season males use small fish offerings to attract female partners.
• Apart from hunting while airborne above aquatic habitats Elegant Tern also farms surrounding vegetation through droppings rich in nitrogenous compounds that help support plant growth.
In conclusion,
the elegant tern is a beautiful bird that is primarily found near the Pacific coast. With its distinctive features like black and white feathers, orange-red beak this bird’s beauty makes it stand out from other seabirds. They are inclined towards nesting in rocky offshore islands or sandy beaches near estuaries which provide ample food sources such as small fish and crustaceans, where they can also easily hunt for their prey by plunging into water. Apart from being great hunters, these birds also show fascinating behaviours of courtship displays before mating season through fish offerings to attract female partners and farming surrounding vegetation through their droppings rich in nitrogenous compounds supporting plant growth.
