Colours
Distinguishing features
It looks like a stout tern, and hence closely resembles the other two tropicbird species. It has generally white plumage, often with a pink tinge, a black crescent around the eye and a thin red tail feather. It has a bright red bill and black feet. The legs are a long way toward the rear of the body making it very clumsy on land (and when landing). (Wikipedia)
Size
- From 86 cm to 90 cm (Including long tail feathers.)
Wingspan
- From 99 cm to 119 cm
Synonyms
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Distribution and habitat preferences
It nests on oceanic islands in large colonies from the Hawaiian Islands to Easter Island and across to Mauritius and the Reunion Island. In Australia, they nest on Queensland's coral islands (including Lady Elliott Island) and islands off Western Australia. They disperse widely after breeding, birds ringed in Hawaii have been recovered as far away as Japan and the Philippines. They range from the Red Sea to New Zealand and Chile. (Wikipedia)
Audio recordings
Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) female and male flight calls
© David M on Xeno Canto
(source)
Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) adult with nestling
© Mark Todd
(source)
