CAPITOLA -- Officials are seeking information on the shooting of an elegant tern, a migratory seabird protected by federal law and found recently in Capitola.

The bird was located by a Capitola police officer and transferred to a local wildlife group, Native Animal Rescue, which has experience nurturing birds back to health. It has been moved to Fairfield-based International Bird Rescue.

"These are beautiful creatures and there's absolutely no reason to do something like this," said Jay Holcomb, director of International Bird Rescue. "Anybody that does this and gets caught should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It's ridiculous."

While the bird is now flying under observation, the bullet is still lodged in its shoulder. Rescue personnel have not determined if the bird needs surgery to remove the bullet, or even what type of bullet it is.

It is also unclear if the shot came from a BB gun or a pistol. Holcomb said it looks too big to be a BB, but Molly Richardson of Native Animal Rescue in Santa Cruz said it's not unusual for local youth to use birds as BB gun targets, with shootings occurring every few years.

"I don't think kids should be allowed to have BB guns," Richardson said.

The bird was found in Capitola and transported by a police officer for further care. However, the bird may have been shot elsewhere.


Elegant terns are not threatened, but as migratory birds they have been protected by federal law for a century. Largely white, the birds have black legs and a black head, to go with a bright orange beak.

The law that protects them, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, dates to 1918. Other local bird shootings have raised outcries before, including that of two great blue herons in 2008.

"One time I got a great blue heron that had been shot through the brain," Richardson said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would have jurisdiction over any violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Because finding shooters is difficult, prosecutions under the law are rare even when rewards are offered.

However, the federal government has used the law to pursue industries that harm birds. Last year, a North Dakota federal judge ruled that an oil and gas company could not be held liable for unintentional bird deaths on its property because doing so would criminalize "driving, construction, airplane flights, farming, electricity and wind turbines" and other everyday activity.

Holcomb was hopeful the elegant tern would recover enough to be released back into the wild.

"You never know, but it is flying and looking pretty good," Holcomb said. "Cross your fingers."

The Capitola Police Department asks anyone with information to call 831-475-4242.

Follow Sentinel reporter Jason Hoppin at


