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Brief #
Long, slender orange bill, pale grey upperparts and white underparts.
Description #
This is a medium-large tern, with a long, slender orange bill, pale grey upperparts and white underparts. Its legs are black. In winter, the forehead becomes white. Juvenile elegant terns have a scalier pale grey back. The call is a characteristic loud grating noise like a Sandwich tern. This bird could be confused with the royal tern or Forster's tern, but the royal tern is larger and thicker-billed and shows more white on the forehead in winter. Out of range, it can also be easily confused with the lesser crested tern.
Measurements #
Length: 39 - 42 cm
Wingspan: 76 - 81 cm
Weight: 190 - 325 g
Gallery #
