Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans), Glendale Recharge Ponds, Maricopa County

This Elegant Tern was found by Ronnie Reed and Eileen Wallace on 14 March 2020 and photographed by Ronnie Reed on the same date.

Casual in Arizona, with 19 accepted state records. Most records are from the Tucson area. If accepted by the ABC this would be the first March record for the state and one of very few from the inland west.

Elegant Tern is distiguished from Royal Tern by the long, drooping bill, usually orangish at the tip, and by the longer more extensive shaggy crest.  It differs from Caspian Tern in the long crest, thin bill and white undersides to the wingtips. Larger than Forster's or Common Tern with a shaggy crest and different bare parts color and shape.

14 March 2020, photo by Ronnie Reed

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