License
Size and Profile
- Uploaded:
- Sep 26, 2009
- Original:
- 1620 × 1080
- Original date:
- Feb 05, 2008
Manipulated version of this image is at www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/2245313523/
Note: 06feb2008 I corrected the ID from Elegant Tern to Royal Tern.
Thanks to Maggie Smith earlier, and Greg Smith today, for correcting me on these. Greg says "I am pretty sure they are Royal Terns given the black on the crown and other distinctions. ELTE black should cover the entire crown down to the forehead at this time. ROTE have their black stick out the back whereas ELTE lay down on the back. We might have one ELTE as a vagrant here at this time of year, but for the most part, ELTE is here during our summer warm water months. ROTE is not common but expected on our beaches at this time of year. One more helpful hint is the ELTE have a more needle-like bill. Hope this is helpful. Your gradient fill for the background on [the manipulated version of this image] at www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/2245313523/
make[s] the bird even more eye-popping. I am a big fan of cleaning up backgrounds and other distractions. Great shot! Greg"
Creative Communes use note 19 Sept. 2008. Approved: Dear Mike, I am responsible for the bird section of Iziko Museums of Cape Town's educational website called Biodiversity Explorer (http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/), featuring the life we encounter in southern Africa. I am trying to fill in gaps in terms of photographs of each bird species recorded in this region. One species I am looking for is the Royal tern, which I see you have a photo of on flickr, located here: www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/2245038533/ I would acknowledge source and copyright for this image and would provide a link to your flickr profile. Other photographers such as Callie de Wet, Trevor Hardaker, Jim Scarff and Peter Steyn have already contributed. I hope you are receptive to this proposal. Regards, Hamish Robertson
Wikipedia Article
The Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus, syn. Sterna maxima, see Bridge et al., 2005) is a seabird in the tern family Sternidae. This bird has two distinctive subspecies, T. m. maximus which lives on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the North and South America. The slightly smaller T. m. albididorsalis lives on the coast of West Africa. The Royal Tern has a red-orange bill and a black cap on the top of its head during the breeding season, but in the winter the cap becomes patchy. The Royal Tern is found in Europe, Africa, the Americas, and the Caribbean islands. The Royal Tern lives on the coast and is only found where there is salt water, they do not live where there is fresh water. They tend to feed near the shore, close to the beach or in backwater bays. The Royal Tern's conservation status is listed as least concern, so there is little conservation efforts for the tern.
See encyclopedia photos —
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene.
In general, seabirds live longer, breed later and have fewer young than other birds do, but they invest a great deal of time in their young. Most species nest in colonies, which can vary in size from a few dozen birds to millions. Many species are famous for undertaking long annual migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the Earth in some cases. They feed both at the ocean's surface and below it, and even feed on each other. Seabirds can be highly pelagic, coastal, or in some cases spend a part of the year away from the sea entirely.
Seabirds and humans have a long history together: they have provided food to hunters, guided fishermen to fishing stocks and led sailors to land. Many species are currently threatened by human activities, and conservation efforts are under way.
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