High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! 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.