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Red-billed Tropicbird
Odebrecht, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist

Seabirds & cormorants

Red-billed Tropicbird

Phaethon aethereus Linnaeus, 1758

LC Least Concern

Names

EnglishRed-billed Tropicbird
DutchRoodsnavelkeerkringvogel
SpanishRabijunco pico rojo
Chinese红嘴鹲
Scientific namePhaethon aethereus Linnaeus, 1758

About this species

The red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus) is a tropicbird, one of three closely related species of seabird of tropical oceans. Superficially resembling a tern in appearance, it has mostly white plumage with some black markings on the wings and back, a black mask and, as its common name suggests, a red bill. Most adults have tail streamers that are about two times their body length, with those in males being generally longer than those in females. The red-billed tropicbird itself has three subspecies recognized, including the nominate. The subspecies mesonauta is distinguished from the nominate by the rosy tinge of its fresh plumage, and the subspecies indicus can be differentiated by its smaller size, more restricted mask, and more orange bill. This species ranges across the tropical Atlantic, eastern Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderPhaethontiformes
FamilyPhaethontidae
GenusPhaethon