The odds are very long against it, but it would be good to know more about lesser crested terns when deciding whether or not the Hoover bird is a royal tern. There are certain features to look for, and especially to look for on photos, to help examine this possibility. Could be there are enough good photos now made public to support a final ID. Having neither the money to vacation in the normal range of the LCT, nor service in the French Foreign Legion, I have no first-hand experience, but I peeked into Olsen and Larsson's "Terns of Europe and North America" to consult the accumulated knowledge. A lot of the ID features involve comparisons between the two species which it would be risky to undertake for those unfamiliar with both; I guess the place to see them side by side is in West Africa, not Ohio. However, we did see--and I hope photograph--the tern in immediate proximity with the familiar ring-billed gull. Here are measurements from Olsen and Larsson, and Harrison's "Seabirds": LCT: length 35-37 cm, wingspan 92-105 Royal: length 45-50 cm, wingspan 125-135 Ringbilled: length 45-53 cm, wingspan 121-177 So, royal tern matches very closely in these measurements the ring-billed gull, and both are about 1/3 larger than LCT. Photos of the Hoover gull with ring-bills should help a lot here. O&L say differentiation even where both birds are common is "often difficult," but that "LCT is clearly smaller, with slimmer bill and uniform grey upperparts [incl. both rump and tail]. The overall impression is of an 'orange-billed Sandwich Tern,' whereas Royal Tern is a "Caspian in miniature' with white rump and tail." As to adult winter plumage, "LCT has white head with black mask similar to Royal's. Compared with Royal, the mask is generally broader, and more solid in front of the eye; the white eye-ring is therefore distinct only behind the eye, and narrow (usually barely visible) in front of the eye...the bill is uniformly yellow, similar in color to that of Royal." There is much, much more detail in Olsen & Larsson, including many photos. Because not everyone has this reference, I offer these excerpts of what seem to me the likeliest helpful differences that we can study in the many good photos we have available, and look for in subsequent encounters with this bird. It would be interesting to hear comments on these features from those who studied this bird in the field and in the photos. If we don't have good side-by-side photos with gulls, it would be great if someone could get some! Bill Whan Columbus ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]