White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

White-tailed Tropicbird

Phaethon lepturus Daudin, 1802

≈44 cmLength91 cmWingspan328 gWeight

This slender, mainly white seabird has exceptionally long central tail feathers.

Most records: Bermuda, Palau, Seychelles

Looks like Red-billed Tropicbird

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Very long central tail feathers
  2. Black mask
  3. Black wing-bar on the inner wing
  4. Bill orange-yellow to orange-red

Male, female and young

Sexes similar, with the male's tail feathers longer on average; juveniles lack long tail feathers and have a greenish-yellow bill and fine stripes on the back.

Voice

High-pitched shrieks, like “keee-keee-krrrt-krrt-krrt”.

Similar species

Red-billed Tropicbird
Red-billed Tropicbird

Bill color, a pure white back and a black wing-bar are key features distinguishing White-tailed Tropicbird from Red-billed Tropicbird.

Where and when it's recorded

Most records: Bermuda, Palau, Seychelles

White-tailed Tropicbird has been recorded at 300 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 58 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Spittal Pond NRBermuda1,195 records
  2. Castle HarbourBermuda573 records
  3. Midway Atoll NWR – Sand IslandU.S. Outlying Islands251 records
More places
  1. ArideSeychelles208 records
  2. Black River Gorges NPMauritius190 records
  3. Cousin Island NRSeychelles186 records
  4. Ferry Point ParkBermuda185 records
  5. Nonsuch IslandBermuda179 records
  6. St. George's GCBermuda175 records
  7. Ngchus St.2Palau135 records

Countries and regions with the most records

BermudaPalauSeychellesChristmas IslandMauritiusU.S. Outlying IslandsSamoaFrench Polynesia

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The white-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) or yellow-billed tropicbird is a tropicbird. It is the smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It is found in the tropical Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the White-tailed Tropicbird?

The White-tailed Tropicbird is about ≈44 cm long, with a wingspan of 91 cm and weighs around 328 g.

Where does the White-tailed Tropicbird live?

Its breeding range: Tropical Oceans: widespread all tropical oceans (except eastern Pacific and northeastern Atlantic). It is most often recorded in Bermuda, Palau and Seychelles.

Is the White-tailed Tropicbird endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the White-tailed Tropicbird as Least Concern.

What does the White-tailed Tropicbird eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the White-tailed Tropicbird in?

It belongs to the family Tropicbirds (Phaethontidae), order Phaethontiformes.

At a glance

Length
≈44 cm
Wingspan
91 cm
Weight
328 g
Habitat
Ocean
Diet
Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle
Feeds in the air
Migration
Migratory
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
269 mm
Tail
108 mm
Bill
55 mm
Tarsus
21 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Tropical Oceans: widespread all tropical oceans (except eastern Pacific and northeastern Atlantic)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Tropicbirds Phaethontidae
Genus
Phaethon

Other birds in the genus Phaethon

Red-billed TropicbirdRed-billed TropicbirdPhaethon aethereusRed-tailed TropicbirdRed-tailed TropicbirdPhaethon rubricauda
White-tailed Tropicbird

Download illustration

Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Stephen John Davies. ↗

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