Credit goes to Kellen Apuna who originally found this rarity on 20 November. These large terns have a white forehead and crown in non-breeding plumage but they sport a black crest at all seasons. Note the larger, straighter bill compared to the similar Elegant Tern behind. This Royal Tern is an immature (hatching year) in formative plumage showing orange legs, retained juvenile secondaries forming a dark trailing edge to the wing and dark wing coverts forming a gray carpal bar. This warm-water species was formerly more regular in Northern California but disappeared coincident with the collapse of the sardine industry. However, more recently a few Royal Terns have been detected in Northern California in the late fall and early winter. This species is monotypic. A smaller, slimmer, more yellow billed form breeding in West Africa has now been split into a separate species called "West African Crested Tern". Formerly placed in the genus "Sterna."
