Birds · La Saladita, Guerrero
Elegant Tern
Thalasseus elegans
Spanish: Charrán elegante
The elegant tern (Thalasseus elegans) is a tern in the family Laridae. It breeds on the Pacific coasts of the southern United States and Mexico and winters south to Peru, Ecuador and Chile.
TaxonomyAves › Charadriiformes › Laridae
IUCN statusNear Threatened (NT)
Local records21 research-grade observations within about 50 km of La Saladita (the survey box also takes in Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa and Troncones)
Global records9,395 on iNaturalist
Most recent records2025 – 2026
Months of the 8 most recent records
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Recent local sightings
- 2026-05-04 — observation by adriang100
- 2026-05-01 — observation by adriang100
- 2026-05-01 — observation by adriang100
- 2026-05-01 — observation by adriang100
- 2025-11-15 — observation by zihuadean
- 2025-11-06 — observation by jose_javier_bf
Interactive card with more photos, sounds and similar species Birds guide iNaturalist Wikipedia
Cite as: “Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) at La Saladita”, La Saladita Field Guide, lasaladita.com/species/thalasseus-elegans/, updated 2026-09-26. Observation counts and months come from iNaturalist research-grade records within about 50 km of 17.8375°N, 101.7606°W (the survey box also takes in Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa and Troncones); summary text from Wikipedia where present.