His Majesty?

Terns are in the Gull family but are usually smaller and more slender and have straighter bills. I guess you could say they are more aerodynamically shaped and this reveals itself in their flight patterns. There are some 18 species of Terns including the Skimmers and Noddies. You will not see all 18 in one area, so if you want to see them all it will require much travel. This Royal Tern was sunning himself on the Gulf Shore of St. Josephs Peninsula State Park near Port St. Joe, Florida. The Royal Tern is one of our two largest Terns and also sports a Crest. A few other Tern names are Elegant, Sandwich, Sooty, Caspian, and Aleutian. Most Terns will search for small fish often diving headfirst from a hovering position into the water. Skimmers prefer flying low over calm water, slicing their lower mandibles through the surface to snag a small fish.