[3] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-colored plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text.

[4] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Sterna maxima in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées.

[5] The royal tern is now placed in the genus Thalasseus that was erected by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1822.

Within Charadriiformes, it is placed in the family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, because of its white plumage, a black cap on its head, long bill, webbed feet, and bodies that are more streamlined than those of gulls.

The taxonomy of the royal tern has been debated, whether the correct scientific name was Thalasseus maximus or Sterna maxima.

The royal tern has an orange-red bill, pale gray upperparts, and white underparts.

Some of the shrills sound like kree or tsirr; the royal tern also has a more plover-like whistle that is longer, rolling, and more melodious.

[2] The royal tern typically feeds in small secluded bodies of water such as estuaries, mangroves, and lagoons.

Also, but less frequently, the royal tern will hunt for fish in open water, typically within about 100 meters (110 yards) of the shore.

Fish are their main source of food but they also eat insects, shrimp,crabs, and hatchling sea turtles.

When feeding on small crabs the royal tern does not use its normal plunge-dive technique, but instead uses short shallow dives so that they are concealed from their prey.

Fishing nets can catch a tern while it is diving, making it unable to feed or it may cause it to drown if it is caught underwater.