Elegant Tern vs Lesser Crested Tern

Thalasseus elegans compared with Thalasseus bengalensis

Key Differences

• Elegant Tern is Near Threatened while Lesser Crested Tern is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Elegant Tern	Lesser Crested Tern
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order same	Charadriiformes (Charadriiformes)	Charadriiformes (Charadriiformes)
Family same	Laridae	Laridae
Genus same	Thalasseus	Thalasseus
Species	Thalasseus elegans	Thalasseus bengalensis

Evolutionary Relationship

Elegant Tern and Lesser Crested Tern share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Thalasseus.

Conservation Status

Elegant Tern

NT — Near Threatened

Lesser Crested Tern

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Elegant Tern	Lesser Crested Tern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Elegant Tern

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, and Norway. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Lesser Crested Tern

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway